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The Obesity Paradox and Cardiovascular Disease

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Abstract

Obesity is increasingly recognized as a global pandemic that threatens the health of millions of people. Obesity is considered to be an important cardiovascular risk factor, but there is increasing evidence that patients with elevated body mass index may be better off than others if they develop cardiovascular or renal disease. This phenomenon has been described as the "obesity paradox" or "reverse epidemiology." This article reviews some recent publications that have studied this phenomenon as it relates to heart failure, coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, kidney disease, and a cohort of patients undergoing nonbariatric surgery.

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Abbreviations

CRUSADE:

Can Rapid risk stratification of Unstable angina patients Suppress ADverse outcomes with Early implementation of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines Quality Improvement Initiative

INVEST:

International Verapamil

SR:

Trandolapril study.

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgment

The authors express their appreciation to Dr. P. Kumar.

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No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Nephrology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1542 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Stephen A. Morse, Rajat Gulati & Efrain Reisin

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  1. Stephen A. Morse
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  2. Rajat Gulati
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  3. Efrain Reisin
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Correspondence to Stephen A. Morse.

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Morse, S.A., Gulati, R. & Reisin, E. The Obesity Paradox and Cardiovascular Disease. Curr Hypertens Rep 12, 120–126 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-010-0099-1

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