A new study has discovered that heart attack survivors with pot bellies are at greater risk of another attack, making waist size measurement more important than weight.
The study, published on Monday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, found a link between belly fat and the risk of a subsequent heart attack or stroke, placing more emphasis on monitoring waist size.
In a news release, Dr. Hanieh Mohammadi of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said: "Abdominal obesity not only increases your risk for a first heart attack or stroke, but also the risk for recurrent events after the first misfortune."
"Maintaining a healthy waist circumference is important for preventing future heart attacks and strokes regardless of how many drugs you may be taking or how healthy your blood tests are," added Dr. Mohammadi.
The new research involved tracking over 22,000 Swedish patients after their first heart attack and examining the link between their waist circumference and events caused by clogged arteries like fatal and non-fatal heart attacks and stroke.
Four almost four years, the researchers monitored the patients, of whom 1,232 men or 7.3% and 469 women or 7.9% experienced a heart attack or stroke.
The researchers discovered that belly fat was linked to heart attacks and stroke, independent of other risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, hypertension, body mass index and prevention treatments.
They stressed that waist circumference was a more important indicator than overall obesity and advised doctors to measure their patient's waists to identify those at risk. However, they mentioned that the association was stronger and more linear in men, who made up nearly three-fourths of the patients in the study.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the risk of cardiovascular disease like heart attacks or strokes is considered to be higher in those with a waist measurement of above 94 centimeters in men and above 80 centimeters in women.
