Despite advances in modern medicine, heart disease is an ongoing and increasing health concern. Each year close to 800,000 people in the United States will have their first heart attack, while another 470,000 will experience a repeat attack. Risk factors include lifestyle habits such as smoking, family history and weight. In regard to weight, however, clinical data suggests that fat distribution, rather than total fat, is a better predictor of coronary artery disease risk.
Coronary Artery Disease
Coronary artery disease, also known as coronary heart disease, is the leading cause of death in the United States and the primary cause of heart attacks. CHD occurs when fat deposits build up along the walls of your coronary arteries, which supply blood and oxygen to your heart. This buildup causes your arteries to become narrow and increases the risk for blockage, which can lead to a heart attack.
Fat Distribution
Previously, scientists have relied on the body mass index, which calculates total fat based on height and weight, to predict heart-disease risk. But researchers have been exploring the idea that body-fat distribution, rather than total body fat, is a more important indicator. If this is true, it means that being overweight does not necessarily place you at a greater risk for heart disease. In some cases, extra fat may exert a protective effect, but this is a theory that has yet to be fully explored.
Abdominal Fat
Researchers in Japan measured abdominal fat in 144 patients with CHD and found that as the amount of abdominal fat increases, so does the number of diseased blood vessels. Their results suggest that the amount of fat you carry in your midsection can predict the presence and severity of CHD. That would make abdominal fat an independent CHD risk factor. Their results are published in the November 2010 issue of "Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology."
Survival Rate
Dying of a heart attack or stroke is a major risk for people with CHD. Mayo Clinic researchers examined BMI and midsection fat accumulation to determine which factor better predicts mortality among people with CHD. The study found that central obesity, described as waist circumference and waist-hip ratio -- not total body fat -- is associated with death risk in patients with CHD. The study is published in the May 2011 issue of the "Journal of the American College of Cardiology."
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Heart Disease Facts
- PubMed: Coronary Heart Disease
- Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology: Abdominal Visceral Fat Thickness Measured by Ultrasonography Predicts the Presence and Severity of Coronary Artery Disease
- Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Central Obesity and Survival in Subjects with Coronary Artery Disease: a Systematic Review of the Literature and Collaborative Analysis with Individual Subject Data
- Current Atherosclerosis Report: Coronary Heart Disease and Body Fat Distribution
- Circulation: Body Fat Distribution and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Men and Women in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk Cohort
