Fat Deposits Boost Heart Attack Risk

Having excess fat around your heart may be more dangerous than a high body mass index (BMI) or a thick waist in terms of your heart attack risk, according to new research.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center researchers and colleagues measured fat deposits around the heart (pericardial fat) in 159 people, ages 55 to 74, and found that those with the highest levels of pericardial fat were 4.65 times more likely to have calcified coronary plaque in the arteries. While calcified coronary plaque itself isn't considered risky, it's associated with the presence of less stable fatty deposits that can lead to heart attack and stroke. Click here for full article.