Atrial fibrillation, an “oversized” waistline signals risk

The scale alone, sometimes merciless, is not enough to define that we need to lose weight. At least for him. On the front of the prevention of atrial fibrillation, the most common arrhythmia that in many cases is not discovered because it is asymptomatic but can increase the risk of suffering a cerebral stroke, it is better to also rely on the tailor’s meter. And take the measurements Thus the prominence of the belly is assessed and the distribution of fat in the body is considered. In short, in the male, the waistline can be an indicator of the risk of widespread heart disease, even more than the classic one body mass index or BMI, which remains very useful for women. To point out this sort of gender “profile” for the prevention of arrhythmias is a research that has tried to go beyond the now established link between obesity and atrial fibrillation.

The study, coordinated by Michiel Poorthuis of the Utrecht University and published on Journal of American Heart Association, examined information on BMI, abdominal circumference and obviously the resting electrocardiogram in more than two million elderly people without cardiovascular disease. Then they focused the analysis on just under 1% of this population who had atrial fibrillation. Finally, they “skimmed” the data from the possible incidence of variables such as the presence of diabetes, hypertension or smoking, to reach the general conclusion: both high BMI and excessive waist circumference impacted risk in both sexes .

The surprise, however, came later: if for women the relationship between weight and height seems to have a greater significance, in men the distribution of fat would make the difference in a predictive sense. In women, the addition of BMI to the calculation that included the classic risk factors (in addition to age, for example hypertension) increased the ability to predict the onset of arrhythmia by 23% compared to 13% of greater “sensitivity” observed with the abdominal circumference in males the exact opposite happened. In fact, in the observed male population, the measurement of the waistline was more effective in a predictive sense, with a 30% improvement in the prediction of atrial fibrillation compared to 23% using the classic Body Mass Index. “Overweight and obesity are among the causes of almost all heart disease and the study confirms that they are also the same for atrial fibrillation; the data that is really interesting highlighted by this publication is the importance of the distribution of body fat in the abdomen, the waistline, even more perhaps than overweight – he explains Giulio Molon, Director of Cardiology of the Irccs Sacred Heart of Negrar. Probably, therefore, after high blood pressure, being overweight is the most significant risk factor for atrial fibrillation. We therefore remember that in addition to getting on the scale, you need to measure your waistline; walking a lot and eating adequately to lower the belly, in addition to weight, are the basis of a good antiarrhythmic therapy, to be used before or simultaneously with the use of drugs or ablation “.

The measurement of abdominal circumference can become a fundamental and simple parameter to identify those at risk for excess visceral fat. And it is evident that this parameter can be controlled, as well as by each person, even with regular checks by the general practitioner. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, men with an abdominal circumference greater than 40 inches (just under 102 centimeters) are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease (and the study recalls that the greatest danger also lies with the development of atrial fibrillation) as well as type 2 diabetes. Atrial fibrillation must be detected early, even if it may not give symptoms or in any case it can give rise to palpitations that cannot be traced back to the arrhythmia. In fact, if not properly treated, it is associated with a greater risk of stroke up to five times.