Losing fat can benefit your health – especially if it’s belly fat. According to studies, there may be a link between belly fat and heart disease.
If you survive a heart attack, your risk of having another one increases if you have excess fat around your abdomen. According to researchers in Sweden and their study, there is a link between abdominal obesity and repeat heart attacks.
According to Dr. Hanieh Mohammadi, author of the study, abdominal obesity raises the risk of recurrent events. Moreover, this affects people even if they are going through therapy that lowers traditional risk factors. “Abdominal obesity not only increases your risk for a first [event] but also the risk for recurrent events,” says Mohammadi.
The Study
As the largest-ever study on the topic, researchers followed over 22,000 heart attack survivors for a median of 3.8 years. They examined abdominal obesity according to waist circumference and the risk for secondary cardiovascular events (like heart attacks). Almost 80% of men had a waist circumference over 37 inches while 90% of women had 31 inches or more.
According to the results, abdominal obesity can increase your risk of a secondary event regardless of other factors. Furthermore, researchers say that waist circumference is a more important marker than overall obesity.
Belly Fat and Heart Disease
According to researchers, waist measurements are better indicators of cardiovascular events than other factors like body mass index (BMI) readings. Dr. Megan Kamath, a cardiologist at UCLA Health in California, says that waist measurements are useful in predicting risk. “Waist measurements [are] more useful in predicting cardiovascular risk than BMI as they are specific to abdominal fat.,” says Kamath.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, with U.S. people dying from cardiovascular disease every 37 seconds. Dr. Patel, an interventional cardiologist at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in California, had this to say:
“The chance of getting a second heart attack from a first attack is 1 in 5,” says Patel. “20 percent of patients can have a second heart attack after a first one… despite taking significant medication to reduce the risk.”
The Outlook
If you want to decrease the risk of having a second heart attack, the answer is clear: lose belly fat. However, it may be hard to target your belly fat, so the next best thing is to lose overall fat.
By exercising regularly and doing a mix of aerobic and strength training, you can get in shape and lose fat. Also, look into eating healthy so that your waist measurements go down instead of up. Finally, if you want an extra boost to your circulation and heart health, try L-arginine Plus.
As a daily heart supplement, it works to promote your blood flow, blood pressure health, cholesterol health, and energy levels. Try L-arginine Plus along with a regular exercise routine and healthy diet to promote your heart health effectively.