You are probably familiar with the fact that an ‘apple’ body shape puts you at greater risk for heart disease. A new study published August 16th in the online edition of the journal of Radiology has found the fat around your heart may be an even stronger predicator of heart disease risk.
What is heart fat?
Heart fat, or pericardial fat, is hidden behind the rib cage in a pericardial cavity. It appears that pericardial fat releases proinflammatory markers which promote irregular build-up of plaque along coronary artery walls. This plaque build-up leads to atherosclerosis which can result in a heart attack.
Pericardial fat volume is linked to being overweight or obese. The more excess fat you carry, the greater your risk of having high levels of pericardial fat.
The 183 participants of this study were from the community-based Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). All participants were symptom free, meaning they did not show or experience symptoms of heart disease, but the majority of participants were overweight.
How is heart fat linked to heart disease?
Here’s a question I was recently asked:
How does high cholesterol affect your cardiovascular system?
Let me see if I can explain and keep the process easy to understand!
Cholesterol does not necessarily need to be elevated for this process to take place.
First the endothelium (thin inner lining of your blood vessels) becomes damaged and inflamed. This damage can be caused by a variety of factors, such as high blood pressure, high stress level, poor diet, toxic chemicals and metals, tobacco smoke, etc.
What is the endothelium?
The thin layer of cells lining the inside of your blood vessels. When it’s healthy, it helps regulate blood flow and keeps the vessel wall smooth. When it’s damaged and inflamed, it becomes the starting point for plaque buildup.