Hand grip strength in venous thromboembolism: risk of recurrence and mortality.

Background: There is limited information on the relationship between muscle strength and recurrence and mortality after incident venous thromboembolism (VTE). Objectives: To investigate whether weak hand grip strength (HGS) was associated with risk of recurrence and mortality in patients with VTE recruited from the general population. Methods: Participants from the Tromsø Study with a first-time VTE ( Results: There were 90 recurrences and 350 deaths during a median of 3.7 years of follow-up. The fully adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for overall VTE recurrence for those with weak HGS vs those with normal HGS was 2.02 (95% CI, 1.23-3.30). The corresponding HRs for recurrence were 2.22 (95% CI, 1.18-4.17) in patients with a first deep vein thrombosis and 1.60 (95% CI, 0.72-3.57) in patients with a first pulmonary embolism. The cumulative 1-year survival was 74.9% and 77.8% in those with weak and normal HGS, respectively. For overall mortality after incident VTE, the fully adjusted HR for those with weak HGS was 1.34 (95% CI, 1.04-1.72). Conclusion: Weak HGS was associated with an increased risk of recurrent VTE, and the association appeared to be particularly pronounced after incident deep vein thrombosis. There was a slightly lower survival probability among those with weak HGS than among those with normal HGS.