Most people know that body fat stored in the midsection can negatively impact cardiovascular health. But researchers at Harvard University have discovered another problematic fat storage location in the body that has been largely overlooked.
A team led by Viviani Tacuetti, director of the Cardiac Stress Institute at Harvard Brigham and Women’s Hospital, studied 669 people who were hospitalized for chest pain or shortness of breath, even though they had no signs of obstructive coronary artery disease. A condition in which the arteries that enter the heart are severely blocked. Seventy percent of those surveyed were women, with a roughly even split between white and non-white participants, and the group’s average age was 63 years.
Upon admission, the patient underwent cardiac testing with a PET/CT scan. They also analyzed body composition using CT scans. The researchers then calculated each patient’s “fatty muscle percentage.” This is a measurement of intramuscular fat relative to total body fat.
Six years later, the researchers followed up with the patients. They found that for every 1% increase in intramuscular fat, there was a 2% increased risk of developing coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), a condition that damages the small blood vessels that serve the heart. Additionally, every 1% increase in muscle-based fat increases your risk of developing serious heart disease in the future by 7%. These findings were independent of the person’s total fat as measured by body mass index (BMI).
“Compared to subcutaneous fat, fat stored in muscle may contribute to inflammation and altered glucose metabolism that lead to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. It can cause damage to blood vessels, including those that supply blood to the blood vessels,” Taqueti said. The heart, and the heart muscle itself. ”
Professor Takety said subcutaneous fat is easier to see with the naked eye, but new discoveries about fat being stored in muscles mean that everyone stores fat in their muscles at different rates, which can affect your risk of developing heart disease. This raises the question of whether it should be evaluated as such. Tools that look only at BMI and compare height and weight to derive total body fat may no longer be sufficient.
“Knowing that intermuscular fat increases the risk of heart disease gives us another way to identify people at increased risk, regardless of BMI. “This could be particularly important for our understanding,” Professor Takety said. This drug class includes the widely available semaglutide, sold as Ozempic. A few months ago, three studies demonstrated that it promotes heart health.
Tacketti said her team has not yet found a way to lower the risk for people with fatty muscles, but fat-fighting strategies such as diet, exercise, surgery, and weight-loss drugs can affect body composition and fat percentage. He said he is currently considering possible ways to provide this. of heart disease.
The findings were published in the European Heart Journal.
Source: European Society of Cardiology
