Visceral fat around the heart doubles the risk of heart failure in women. For men, it increases the risk by half.
- Visceral fat around the heart is an accumulation of fatty deposits around the heart organ.
- In women, it would be associated with a higher risk of heart failure.
- Heart failure is a loss of muscle strength of the heart, it can cause edema.
Some fats are more dangerous than others. When they lodge between the organs and the muscles, it is visceral fat. According to a study published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology, it increases the risk of heart failure, especially in women. “For nearly two decades we’ve known that obesity, measured by height and weight, can double the risk of heart failure, but now we’ve gone furthersays Satish Kenchaiah, lead author of the research, using imaging techniques, we have shown that excess pericardiac fat increases the risk even more, perhaps because of its location, close to the heart muscle.“
A major risk factor
To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed the chest tomograms of more than 7,000 people. This examination makes it possible to produce 3D images. They observed their amount of visceral fat around the heart, while following them for 17 years. A total of 400 participants developed heart failure. According to the data analysis, excess visceral fat around the heart is associated with a higher risk of heart failure, even taking into account factors like smoking, alcohol consumption, etc. In women, the presence of this fat doubles the risk, in men it increases it by half. The authors of this research point out that pericardiac fat is not consistently associated with obesity or overweight. According to them, the presence of this fat is a greater risk than these two factors. As proof, in the study, people with heart failure had varying weights: there were thin people, like overweight or obese people. “This work gives us very useful tools to classify patients according to their risk of heart failure, and allow us to carry out early interventions and prevention to save people’s lives.“says Satish Kenchaiah.
What is heart failure?
This pathology is the consequence of an inability of the heart to properly propel blood through the body. This prevents it from supplying the various organs with oxygen and nutrients. In the early stages of the disease, this is manifested by an increase in heart rate: the heart tries to compensate for its loss of strength. Then, the walls of the heart thicken or the heart chambers dilate, which can make the disease worse. In France, a million people are affected.
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