Lack of Exercise and Excess Weight Increases Risk of Untreatable Heart Failure
If you were in search of yet more reasons to keep up with the health basics, meaning regular exercise, a sensible diet, and avoidance of weight gain, then look no further. Here, researchers note that a sedentary lifestyle and excess weight in the form of visceral fat tissue significantly increase the odds of suffering a class of heart failure that currently lacks any good form of treatment.
Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart is unable to supply enough oxygenated blood to meet the demands of the body. Heart failure is approximately equally divided between two subtypes: heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The ejection fraction refers to the percentage of the blood that exits the heart with each contraction. "Previous studies have consistently found an association between low levels of physical activity, high body mass index (BMI), and overall risk of heart failure, but this study shows that the association is more pronounced for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, the type of heart failure that is the most challenging to treat."
In heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, the heart stiffens. Instead of being soft, it's rigid and it resists expansion. Cardiologists often explain the difference between the two types of heart failure by saying that in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, the heart doesn't relax enough, while in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction the heart doesn't squeeze enough. Many treatments have been developed for treating the latter but there are no evidence-based treatments for the former. "The five-year survival rate among heart failure with preserved ejection fraction patients is around 30 to 40 percent. While heart failure with reduced ejection fraction survival has improved significantly over the years, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction prognosis is little changed."
The pooled analysis looked at data from 51,000 participants in three cohort studies, the Women's Health Initiative, the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), and the Cardiovascular Health Study. Among the 51,000 participants, there were 3,180 individuals who developed heart failure. Of these, 39 percent were heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, 29 percent were heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and 32 percent had not been classified when the data was gathered. The incidence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction was 19 percent lower for individuals who exercised at recommended levels. Similarly, body mass index (BMI) had an inverse relationship with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Higher BMI levels were more strongly associated with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction than with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.
Link: http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/news-releases/year-2017/feb/heart-failure-berry.html