Tsuji M, et al. - In this retrospective analysis of 78 patients undergoing left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantations, researchers evaluated preoperative muscle wasting using abdominal skeletal muscle images on computed tomography (CT) as well as the links between the preoperative muscle wasting and clinical outcomes post-implantation. Muscle wasting was defined as having skeletal muscle index (SMI) that fell into the lowest gender-based tertile. For participants, the median SMI was 37.6 cm²/m². A mean follow-up of 738 ± 379 days was performed. A higher mortality was observed in relation to preoperative muscle wasting in patients with LVAD. Mortality could be predicted with abdominal skeletal muscle area assessed on CT before LVAD implantation.