A new study involving diabetic patients suggests that an increasing waist size is a stronger predictor of serious heart disease than either body weight or body mass index. Researchers evaluated the heart function of study participants and found that left ventricular function progressively worsened as a participant’s waist size expanded, with heart function decline eventually leveling off when the waist reached 45 inches (~114 cm). The left ventricle is the heart’s primary pumping chamber, and abnormal ventricular function is a common cause of heart disease. Dr. Sarah Samaan, a cardiologist at the Heart Hospital at Baylor in Plano, Texas adds, “Abdominal fat produces a wide range of inflammatory substances, and is more highly correlated with heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes than other types of fat. We know that heavier people are more likely to have stiffer hearts, which in turn can predispose to heart failure. This study shows us that fat in the abdominal area is especially harmful to heart function.”
American College of Cardiology Scientific Session, Chicago, April 2016