Obesity is one of the major causes of heart disease. I am sure that you know it. But, now the findings of a new study suggests that obesity may actually help heart patients. What? Yes, studies have shown that obese heart patients have better survival and have fewer strokes and heart attacks than normal-weight or underweight heart patients.
According to cardiologist Carl J. Lavie, MD, of the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, "Obese patients with heart disease respond well to treatment and have paradoxically better outcomes and survival than thinner patients". But, though many studies proved that fact many cardiologists haven't heard of this or don't believe it.
Yes, obesity is harmful. And compared to lean people, overweight and obese people have a much higher incidence of heart attacks, strokes, and death from other cardiovascular causes. But when when normal or underweight people get heart disease, their prognosis is worse than obese heart patients.
Why obese people do well? Dr. Lavie thinks that excess weight may be somewhat protective because obese patients have more reserves to fight disease than thinner patients. Another explanation might be that lean heart patients have more aggressive disease because they are genetically predisposed to develop heart disease and have worse outcomes.
Dr. Lavie warned that patients with heart disease shouldn't assume that gaining weight will protect them. The findings of the study appeared in the May issue of Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
0 comments:
Post a Comment