A recent study found that the fat stored in muscles can damage blood vessels. This can increase the risk of hospitalisation or death due to heart disease, regardless of body mass index (BMI). The study was led by researchers from the Brigham and Women's Hospital, US and published in the European Heart Journal.?
The researchers found that for every one per cent increase in muscle fat, there was a two per cent increase in coronary microvascular dysfunction and a seven per cent increase in serious heart disease. Coronary microvascular dysfunction is a condition when small blood vessels of the heart start to malfunction.?
The study says that existing measures such as body mass index or waist circumference are not adequate to evaluate the risk of heart disease accurately for all people.
Viviany Taqueti, lead researcher and a director at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said, "Obesity is now one of the biggest global threats to cardiovascular health, yet body mass index -- our main metric for defining obesity and thresholds for intervention -- remains a controversial and flawed marker of cardiovascular prognosis. This is especially true in women, where high body mass index may reflect more 'benign' types of fat."
Taqueti explained that fat stored in the muscle can lead to inflammation and alter glucose metabolism, thereby, leading to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. These eventually damage blood vessels, including the ones that supply the heart.??
Taqueti said, "Intermuscular fat (hidden inside muscles) can be found in most muscles in the body, but the amount of fat can vary widely between different people."
For the study, the researchers examined nearly 670 people with no evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease. They were evaluated at the hospital for chest pain and shortness of breath. The researchers calculated fat stored in muscles through the ratio of intermuscular fat to total muscle plus fat, and termed it 'fatty muscle fraction'.
The researchers said, "Increased intermuscular fat is associated with (coronary microvascular dysfunction) and adverse cardiovascular outcomes independently of BMI and conventional risk factors."
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