Waistlines of 35 Inches or More Linked to Higher Heart Disease Risk

By Sally Finder-Koziol

Time for a gut check: A growing girth might spell more trouble than merely not fitting into your “skinny” jeans. Women with waistlines of 35 inches or more are at greater risk of heart disease than thinner women, new research shows.

A study conducted by New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia found that 90 percent of the 6,000 women whose waistlines measured 35 inches or more had at least one major risk factor for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure, and a third had three or more. Measuring waists can help women identify themselves as being at increased heart-attack risk and empower them to seek further evaluation and possible treatment from their doctors, says the study’s lead author, Dr. Lori Mosca.

Medical professionals also need to take note, other researchers say. An international study by the Geneva-based World Heart Federation (WHF) found that only about 60 percent of doctors know that a bigger waist size raises the odds of having a heart attack.

Physicians need to realize the importance of a too-big belt size and put a simple girth check on their list of screening tools. “Measuring waist circumference is an easy, low-cost indicator that should be added to measurements of other cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, lipid levels, and blood glucose,” the WHF’s Sidney Smith says.

Source: Journal of Women’s Health