0239 : The impact of diurnal fasting during Ramadan on patients with chronic heart failure

Abstract

To determine the clinical and biochemical effects of fasting during Ramadan on patients with chronic heart failure. Fifty-three outpatients with chronic heart failure with intention to fast were studied in the month of Ramadan 2014 (1435 Hijri) at the Cardiology departement in Ibn Rochd University hospital, Casablanca, Morocco. Detailed clinical and biochemical assessments were performed within one week before the start of Ramadan and then on the last day of Ramadan. There were 31 (58.5%) males and 22 (41.5%) females with a mean age of 60±11 years (range, 34-88). Thirty eight patients (71.1%) had coronary artery disease, 10 patients (18.9%) had dilated cardiomyopathy, 2 patients (3.8%) had valvular heart disease, one patient (1.9%) had toxic cardiomyopathy secondary to chemotherapy, one patient had hypertensive cardiomyopathy and another patient had Meadows cardiomyopathy. Forty-two patients (79.2%) were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class I, 11 patients (20.8%) in Class II. Forty-nine patients (92.4%) managed to fast during the entire Ramadan, 4 patients (7.5%) missed the fasting for up to 10 days. There were no significant changes in the NYHA Class (p= 0.18) nor there were any significant changes in the Canadian Cardiac Society (CCS) class in patients with coronary artery disease (p=0.09). No significant changes occurred in any of the hematological or biochemical parameters during the fasting of Ramadan. The effects of fasting during Ramadan on stable patients with chronic heart failure are minimal. The majority of patients with stable cardiac disease can fast during Ramadan without significant detrimental effects.