Monday, October 26, 2009

Pericardial fat a better predictor of CHD than BMI

Pericardial fat a better predictor of CHD than BMI
OCTOBER 23, 2009 | Lisa Nainggolan

Winston-Salem, NC- A new study has shown that fat around the heart—so-called pericardial fat—predicts coronary heart disease (CHD) independent of conventional risk factors [1].

In fact, pericardial fat may be a better predictor of an individual's future risk of CHD than either body-mass index (BMI) or waist circumference, say Dr Jingzhong Ding (Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC) and colleagues in their paper in the September 2009 issue of theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Ding told heartwire: "We and other groups have previously found in cross-sectional studies that pericardial fat is related to coronary artery disease. Our new study extends the findings to demonstrate that pericardial fat predicts the future development of clinical events of CHD and that this kind of prediction is beyond that conferred by conventional obesity measures—the first time this has been shown."/.../


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