ATTENTION WOMEN: What is Your Waist Measurement? Find Out if You Are at Risk of Having a Heart Attack
Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., M.S.
Study finds that women with waistlines of 35 inches or more are at greater risk of heart disease than thinner women.
The study was conducted at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Women's Heart Day.
Here are the results:
- Of the 6,000 women whose waistlines were measured the study found that 90 per cent had at least one major risk factor for heart disease and one-third had three or more.
- Increased waist circumference was also correlated with a woman's 10-year chance of having a heart attack or dying of heart disease.
- 43 per cent of women who participated in the screening had blood glucose above what is considered normal (<100 mg/dL).
- 16 per cent of women with no documented history of hypertension had elevated blood pressure (>140/90 mmHg)
Recommendations
According to Dr. Lori Mosca, lead author of the study, director of preventive cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, "measuring waist circumference may be a simple method that women can identify themselves as being at increased heart-attack risk and empower them to seek further evaluation and possible treatment from their doctors.
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