A study with more than 600 adults who had reduced blood flow to their heart but who didn’t have signs of blocked arteries found that assessing how much fat they had in muscles around their chest improved predictions for who would experience major heart problems years later.
Researchers found that every 1% increase in fat deposited within a person’s muscle fibers was associated with a 2% greater chance of having reduced blood flow to their heart. This 1% increase in muscle fat was also linked to a 7% greater chance for having heart problems, which was measured for up to nearly six years. Heart problems were defined in this study as having a heart attack, heart failure, or a heart-related death. The predictions from muscle fat were independent of other factors, including body weight and fat around a person’s heart or liver.
The authors and others note more research is needed to understand how these findings could be used to identify and help patients at greatest risk. The research was supported by NHLBI and published in the European Society of Cardiology.