Researchers say heart attack survivors must focus on losing abdominal fat

Sep 3, 2013 18:41 GMT  ·  By
Heart attack survivors should focus on losing abdominal fat, researchers say
   Heart attack survivors should focus on losing abdominal fat, researchers say

Specialists working with European Society of Cardiology warn that people who are a tad too thick around the waist have more trouble recovering from a heart attack, even if they do not qualify as obese.

More precisely, their chances of passing away some five years after one such incident are greater than those of people whose waist size falls into the “normal” category.

Needless to say, obese people also have issues staying alive for a considerable time after a heart attack. Oddly enough, so do lean people, Science News reports.

As Professor Tabassome Simon explains, “We found that both lean patients and very obese patients had an increased risk of death at 5 years: + 41% and + 65%, respectively.”

Furthermore, “Being in the upper quartile of waist circumference (i.e. having a big belly considering your weight) was also an indicator of increased mortality at 5 years (+ 44%).”

The researchers recommend that, in light of these findings, heart attack survivors focus on losing as much abdominal fat as possible.

“High waist circumference, severe obesity and underweight are associated with the greatest risk of death in heart attack survivors. It is not good to be too lean or too fat, but it is worse still when you have a big belly,” Professor Simon stresses.