Great Care recently took note of a report published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The information confirms what we all know to be a difficult reality of aging: Weight gain may increase heart failure risk.
“Researchers say maintaining weight and avoiding weight gain may be an important strategy to prevent changes in heart muscle that could lead to heart failure.” says the journal article, published in July.
The AHA reports that gaining even a little weight over time may alter the structure and function of heart muscle. This affects long-term risk of heart failure, according to new research in the “Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.”
Researchers followed 1,262 adults (average age 44, 57 percent women, 44 percent black, 36 percent obese) who were free from heart disease and other conditions that put them at high risk for heart disease for seven years. Participants had MRIs scans of their hearts and multiple body fat measurements at the start of the study and then seven years later, says the AHA.
Researchers found those who gained weight, even as little as 5 percent, were more likely to exhibit:
• Thickening and enlargement of the left ventricle, well-established indicators of future heart failure;
• Subtle decreases in their hearts’ pumping ability;
• Changes in heart muscle appearance and function that persisted even after the researchers eliminated other factors that could affect heart muscle performance and appearance, including high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and alcohol use.
“Conversely, people who lost weight were more likely to exhibit decreases in heart muscle thickness,” says the journal article.
Notably, a person’s weight at the beginning of the study didn’t impact the changes, the AHA reports.
Even those of normal weight could experience adverse heart effects if they gain weight over time, researchers say.
“Any weight gain may lead to detrimental changes in the heart above and beyond the effects of baseline weight so that prevention should focus on weight loss or if meaningful weight loss cannot be achieved – the focus should be on weight stability,” according to Ian Neeland, M.D., study senior author and a cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “Counseling to maintain weight stability, even in the absence of weight loss, may be an important preventive strategy among high-risk individuals.”
The researchers caution that their study was relatively small and their findings do not mean that every person with weight gain will necessarily develop heart failure.
“The results do suggest that changes in weight may affect heart muscle in ways that can change the organ’s function,” says Dr. Neeland.
Further research is needed to determine whether aggressive weight management could, reverse the changes, Neeland says.
For more information on losing weight from the AHA, click here.
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The professionals at Great Care are available to talk with you and your family about all of your home care needs, including respite care. Great Care is a non-medical in-home care agency providing quality and affordable elder care in Fishers, IN and the surrounding areas. Call (888) 240-9101 for more information.
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