(Press-News.org) Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Monday 2 September 2013: Metabolically healthy women have the same cardiovascular disease risk regardless of their BMI, according to research presented at the ESC Congress today by Dr Søren Skøtt Andersen and Dr Michelle Schmiegelow from Denmark. The findings in more than 260,000 subjects suggest that obese women have a window of opportunity to lose weight and avoid developing a metabolic disorder, which would increase their CVD risk.
Dr Schmiegelow said: "Obesity and/or metabolic disorders (hypertensive disorders [hypertension, gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia], disorders in glucose-metabolism [diabetes, gestational diabetes] and elevated cholesterol levels [dyslipidemia]) are well known cardiovascular risk factors. Studies in middle aged men have found that obese and normal weight men have the same cardiovascular risk if they are metabolically healthy. Our study aimed to find out if the same was true for young fertile women."
The study used Danish national health databases and followed 261,489 women who had given birth during 2004-2009 with no prior history of cardiovascular disease. The women were divided into four categories according to their pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and presence of metabolic disorders (present/not present) (see figure). The women's mean age was 31 years.
The women were followed for an average of 5 years following childbirth. Discharge diagnoses and data on cause of death were used to determine if the women had a heart attack, a stroke, or died. Metabolic disorders were defined using claimed prescription data related to hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia; thus, only disorders being treated were taken into account. The pregnancy-associated metabolic disorders were defined using diagnosis codes.
The researchers found that being overweight (BMI≥25 kg/m2) but metabolically healthy was not associated with an increased risk of a heart attack, stroke or a combination of heart attack/stroke/death in comparison with normal weight, metabolically healthy women. Dr Schmiegelow said: "Being overweight but free of metabolic disorders does not seem to be associated with an increased risk in young women in the short term. However, development of metabolic disorders, for which obesity is a major determinant, is associated with a marked increase in cardiovascular risk, especially in overweight women even in the short term."
The investigators found that the metabolically unhealthy, overweight women had an almost 7-fold increased risk of heart attack and a 4-fold increased risk of stroke. Dr Schmiegelow said: "It is important to note that the absolute risks were still low in this young population, but the key message from this study is that the consequences of obesity become apparent even in a young, low-risk population within a relatively short period of follow-up."
She added: "Our results clearly show that being overweight but metabolically healthy is not associated with an excess cardiovascular risk in comparison with normal weight healthy women. However being normal weight or overweight with metabolic disorders is associated with a marked increase in risk that is present in a young female population with a mean age of only 31 years and within a short span of follow up."
Dr Schmiegelow concluded: "Our results indicate that obesity might not be all bad if the overweight woman has not developed any hypertensive disorders, disorders in glucose-metabolism or elevated cholesterol levels. But because obesity markedly increases the risk of developing these metabolic disorders, these women most likely have a window of opportunity to lose weight and change their prognosis."
### END
Metabolically healthy women have same CVD risk regardless of BMI
Study finds that being overweight but metabolically healthy was not associated with an increased risk of a heart attack
2013-09-02
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Pacemaker for slow heart rhythm restores life expectancy
2013-09-02
Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Monday 2 September 2013 : Pacemakers implanted for slow heart rhythm restore life expectancy to normal levels, reveals research presented at ESC Congress 2013 today by Dr Erik O. Udo from the Netherlands. The findings provide a new reference point for the prognosis of modern pacemaker patients.
Dr Udo said: "Previous studies describing the survival of pacemaker patients used data that is more than 20 years old and cannot be used anymore for patient counselling and benchmarking. There have been considerable changes in pacemaker technology ...
ASSURE study of experimental agent to raise HDL yields 'disappointing and surprising' results
2013-09-02
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, 2 September2013 – The search continues for an agent that increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and reduces arterial plaque, after the experimental apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) inducer, RVX-208 failed to do so in the ApoA1 Synthesis Stimulation and Intravascular Ultrasound for Coronary Atheroma Regression Evaluation (ASSURE) study.
The lack of efficacy of RVX-208 is "disappointing and surprising, given promising earlier findings," noted lead investigator Stephen Nicholls MBBS, PhD, Deputy Director at the South Australian Health and Medical Research ...
Common blood pressure drug reduces aortic enlargement in Marfan syndrome
2013-09-02
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands - A common drug that is used to treat high blood pressure in the general population has been found to significantly reduce a dangerous and frequently fatal cardiac problem in patients with Marfan syndrome.
Results of the COMPARE (COzaar in Marfan PAtients Reduces aortic Enlargement) study reveal that patients treated with losartan (Cozaar) had a significantly reduced rate of aortic enlargement after 3 years compared to patients who did not receive the treatment.
"Our study is the first large, prospective randomized study to assess the effects ...
Treatment with the anti-diabetic drug alogliptin does not increase CV risk in patients with ACS
2013-09-02
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – Patients with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk due to recent acute coronary syndromes had similar rates of cardiovascular events when treated with the anti-diabetic agent alogliptin compared to placebo according to results of the Examination of Cardiovascular Outcomes with Alogliptin versus Standard of Care (EXAMINE) trial presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress.
"Compared with placebo, treatment with alogliptin resulted in similar rates of the primary endpoint, which was a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial ...
Move it and lose it: Every 'brisk' minute counts
2013-09-01
To win the war against weight gain, it turns out that every skirmish matters – as long as the physical activity puts your heart and lungs to work.
In a new study published today in the American Journal of Health Promotion, University of Utah researchers found that even brief episodes of physical activity that exceed a certain level of intensity can have as positive an effect on weight as does the current recommendation of 10 or more minutes at a time.
"What we learned is that for preventing weight gain, the intensity of the activity matters more than duration," says ...
Anticoagulant does not reduce rate of ischemic events among certain patients undergoing PCI
2013-09-01
Use of the novel anticoagulant otamixaban did not reduce ischemic events compared with unfractionated heparin plus eptifibatide but increased bleeding among patients with non–ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries), according to a study published by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2013
"Major progress has been made in ...
Big belly increases death risk in heart attack survivors
2013-09-01
Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Sunday 1 September 2013 : Having a big belly increases the risk of death in heart attack survivors, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2013 by Professor Tabassome Simon and Professor Nicolas Danchin from France. The findings from the FAST-MI 2005 registry suggest that lifestyle interventions in heart attack patients should focus on losing abdominal fat.
Professor Simon said: "The impact of obesity on long term mortality and cardiovascular complications in the general population has been the object of recent debate. Much emphasis ...
Listening to favorite music improves endothelial function in CAD
2013-09-01
Professor Deljanin Ilic said: "In the setting of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease the endothelium loses its normal function.1 Since endothelium derived nitric oxide is necessary to maintain an adequate vascular response, correction of endothelial dysfunction has become a goal of therapy."
She added: "Exercise training has been shown to improve endothelial function and is the cornerstone of a multifaceted programme of cardiovascular rehabilitation. However, little is known about the role of music in cardiovascular rehabilitation or the effects of ...
Physical activity decreases sudden cardiac death risk in unfit men
2013-09-01
Dr Laukkanen said: "Sudden cardiac death (SCD) accounts for approximately 50% of deaths from coronary heart disease. SCD typically occurs shortly after the onset of symptoms, leaving little time for effective medical interventions, and most cases occur outside hospital with few or no early warning signs. Finding ways to identify individuals at elevated risk of SCD would allow early interventions on risk factors to be implemented."
The current study investigated the impact of high leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) combined with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on risk ...
Cold weather produces more heart attacks
2013-09-01
Professor Claeys said: "Air pollution and temperature changes are the most frequently reported environmental triggers for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Epidemiologic studies have focused mainly on one environmental condition, but most environmental triggers are related to each other and may attenuate or reinforce the triggering effect of a single environmental factor."
He added: "Better knowledge of the impact of environment on AMI will help medical care providers and policy makers to optimise prevention strategies for a target risk population."
The present study ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Pink skies
Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research
Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered
% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?
An app can change how you see yourself at work
NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals
New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China
Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds
Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea
New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea
Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes
Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others
Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke
Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition
Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life
Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy
Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming
Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly
Alcohol makes male flies sexy
TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income
Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression
Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring
Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs
AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders
First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes
Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows
Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission
UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages
In pancreatic cancer, a race against time
Targeting FGFR2 may prevent or delay some KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancers
[Press-News.org] Metabolically healthy women have same CVD risk regardless of BMIStudy finds that being overweight but metabolically healthy was not associated with an increased risk of a heart attack