NEW ORLEANS, May 19, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Obese patients with established
heart disease do better and tend to live longer than leaner patients with the
same severity of disease, U.S. researchers say.
Dr. Carl Lavie, medical director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention at the
Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, says the obesity paradox in patients with
cardiovascular disease, which was first noticed earlier this decade, is complex.
It is likely due to a combination of obesity's impact on fat cells and other
metabolic processes -- e.g., insulin resistance, glucose metabolism, metabolic
syndrome -- as well as other consequences of being obese.
"Obese patients with heart disease respond well to treatment and have
paradoxically better outcomes and survival than thinner patients," Lavie says in
a statement. "Although these patients have a more favorable short- and long-term
prognosis, we don't yet understand the mechanisms for why this might be the
case."
Lavie speculates excess weight may be somewhat protective because these patients
have more reserves to fight disease than thinner patients. Another explanation
might be that obese patients might be diagnosed earlier with milder disease,
Lavie says.
"Clinicians should emphasize to patients the importance of achieving and
maintaining a healthy weight, restricting their intake of calories and getting
30 to 40 minutes of exercise on most, if not all, days," Lavie says.
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International