Indicators of nutritional status and patient needs in cardiac rehabilitation

Background

The prevalence and incidence of cardiovascular diseases significantly increase with age, and it is well-known that nutritional status affects the prognosis and treatment of these diseases. Therefore, evaluating nutritional status is essential for maintaining/regaining health. It is crucial to identify nutritional risk early, prevent and/or treat protein-energy malnutrition, and promote the modification of inappropriate dietary habits.

Methods

Nutritional screening represents the first step of access to the Nutrition Care Process (NCP) adopted and managed by the dietitian; this tool must be simple, inexpensive, accessible, accurate, efficient, and validated. A globally accepted standardized definition of malnutrition is necessary, and for this reason, the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria have been recently introduced.

The GLIM criteria, after confirming nutritional risk through screening, include both phenotypic and etiological criteria: to diagnose malnutrition, at least one of these must be present.

A less commonly performed phenotypic criterion is the assessment of muscle mass, which should be studied as a significant component of sarcopenia.

Conclusion

Greater attention to the identification and treatment of malnutrition would bring benefits to patients and ensure a saving in healthcare expenditure, but for this purpose, an implementation of clinical nutrition services is necessary.