The Association between Nutritional Status and In-Hospital Mortality among Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome—A Result of the Retrospective Nutritional Status Heart Study (NSHS)

Background: Nutritional status is related to the prognosis and the length of hospitalization of individuals with myocardial infarction. This study aimed to assess the effects of nutritional status on in-hospital mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 1623 medical records of patients admitted to the cardiology department of the University Clinical Hospital in Wroclaw (Poland) between 2017 and 2019. Results: It was found that, of those who died in the sample, 50% had a BMI within the normal range, 29% were in the overweight range and 18% were in the obese range. Patients who died had significantly more frequent occurrences of the following: Nutrition Risk Screening (NRS) ≥ 3 (20% vs. 6%; p < 0.001); heart failure (53% vs. 25%; p < 0.001); or a history of stroke (22% vs. 9%; p < 0.001), arterial hypertension (66% vs. 19%; p < 0001) or diabetes (41% vs. 19%; p < 0.001). Statistically significant differences were found when considering the type of infarction, diabetes or people with low-density lipoprotein greater than or equal to 70 mg/dL. Conclusions: This study shows that malnutrition correlates with an increased risk of death during hospitalization.