Obesity raises risk of common heart arrhythmia

	Tweet

Obesity increases the odds of developing atrial fibrillation by 49 percent and the risk rises as body mass index (BMI) climbs, the results of a “meta-analysis” of published studies indicate.

Atrial fibrillation—the rapid and uncoordinated beating of the upper chambers of the heart—is a fairly common disorder that has been linked to an increased risk of blood clots, stroke, and early death, if not controlled.

To investigate ties between obesity and atrial fibrillation, Dr. Franz H. Messerli, from St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York, and colleagues analyzed data from 16 relevant studies involving 123,249 individuals. 

Five studies were population-based and included 78,602 adults from the US and Europe and 11 were post-heart surgery studies of 44,647 patients.

Analysis of the population-based studies showed that obese individuals have a 49 percent higher relative risk of developing atrial fibrillation than their non-obese counterparts. Moreover, the risk of the arrhythmia was directly related to BMI. This association was seen in both men and women.

However, obesity does not seem to increase the risk of atrial fibrillation in individuals who have undergone heart surgery, Messerli and colleagues note in a report in the American Heart Journal. In the post-cardiac surgery studies, obese patients were no more (or less) likely than non-obese patients to develop atrial fibrillation.

Exactly how obesity promotes atrial fibrillation remains to be determined, the investigators say.

SOURCE: American Heart Journal, February 2008. 

RELATED STORIES:
Scientists turn skin cells into beating heart muscle   Too many people get angioplasties, study suggests   New Blood Thinner May Lower Chances of Clots in High-Risk Heart Patients: FDA   Heart Damage After Chemo Linked to Stress in Cardiac Cells   What’s good or bad for the heart, may be the same for the brain   Warfarin in Heart Failure   Increased Sudden Cardiac Death Rate Among HIV Patients   Air pollution level changes in Beijing linked with biomarkers of cardiovascular disease   Lack of basic evidence hampering prevention of sudden heart attacks in sport   Blacks Less Likely to Get Help on Scene After Cardiac Arrest: Study   Heart attack patients taken to PCI hospitals first treated faster   Cameron Health’s under-skin ICD safe, effective

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]