
One such study was conducted by Harvard University, which considered health effects of fat that is deposited between muscle fibres. Read on to learn more about this.
A study done by Harvard Medical School has uncovered that slim people, especially women, have more chances to face a fatal heart attack. Experts say if there are fats called ‘intramuscular’ pockets in their muscles, then they can be vulnerable.
This form of intramuscular fat was somewhat compared to the marbling in beef, which enhances the flavour by adding juiciness and tenderness. Even if these luxury cuts of ‘Wagyu’ beef are the most liked by humans, they do pose deadly health risks.
This type of fat has a dark side as well. Researchers targeting the female population also acknowledged that these fat concealers had a higher chance of dying from a heart attack or heart failure irrespective of their BMI. Actually, for every one percent rise in muscular fat, serious heart conditions can increase by 7 percent.
The report pointed out that those who had more amounts of lean muscle were at lower risk. On the other hand, the researchers pointed out that any sort of fat that was stored below the skin did not elevate the risk for any life-threatening heart disease. Fat that was stored under the skin did not elevate the risk for heart attack.
How did the study go?
The report states that over 650 people, men, and women alike, were evaluated at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston for chest pain and shortness of breath, but they had no signs of obstructive coronary artery disease, which is the blockage of arteries to the heart. The participants were scanned to evaluate their heart functions, while the researchers employed the use of CT Scans to evaluate body compositions, such as the amount and location of fats and muscles in parts of the torso.
“Intermuscular fat is found in practically every muscle in the body, but there can be considerable variation in the amount among different individuals,” said Professor Viviany Taqueti, director of the cardiac stress laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and also a faculty at Harvard Medical School.
According to our research, fat tissues and muscles are analysed to determine whether body composition can alter the micro vessels or ‘microcirculation’ of the heart and, subsequently, lead to heart failure, myocardial infarction, or death,” he elaborated.
Do you have any idea why heart problems are being caused by the fat which is present amongst mere mortals?
People with CMD had greater amounts of muscle fat and had greater prevalence of coronary microvascular dysfunction, which impairs the heart’s micro positive blood pressure.
Researchers found that upon incrementing the percentage of fat within muscles, the chances of CMD rose by two percent, along with a seven percent increase in the risk of severe heart problems in the future. Further, it was reported that the muscle fat, in contrast with subcutaneous fat, may be responsible for causing inflammation and insulin resistance.
The impact of weight loss medications may also have similar effects.
The study published in the European Heart Journal suggests that further research about the effect of weight reduction medications on the cardiovascular system might be “particularly important”. The researchers posited that, perhaps, loss of fat dysfunctionally stored within muscles could be a result of lean muscle tissue loss induced by these medications.
Scientists indicated the parameters for defining obesity and the intervention thresholds are still a contentious and defective scale of cardiovascular prognosis which, among women, is more feted types of fat.