Study Explores Effects of Physical Activity and BMI on HF Risk
The results of a new study show a strong dose-dependent association between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) levels and body mass index (BMI) and risk of overall heart failure (HF), with higher LTPA and lower BMI being associated with lower risk of HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) compared with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).
The association between overall HF and physical activity levels has been shown in multiple studies, but it is less clear whether this relationship is consistent for both HFrEF and HFpEF.
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In their study, researchers quantified the dose-response associations between BMI, lower LTPA, and the risk of HFrEF and HFpEF using data from 51,451 participants involved in the Women’s Health Initiative, the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, or the Cardiovascular Health Study.
A total of 3180 HF events were reported in the 3 cohort studies, 1252 (39.4%) of which were classified as HFpEF, 914 (28.7%) of which were classified as HFrEF, and 1014 (31.9%) of which were unclassified.
Researchers found a strong dose-dependent association between higher levels of LTPA and lower levels of BMI and risk of overall HF.
Their results showed that LTPA levels higher than twice the guideline-recommended minimum LTPA levels were associated with a 19% lower risk of HFpEF, but the results did not show a statistically significant association between high LTPA levels and HFrEF.
“The dose–response relationship for BMI with HFpEF risk was also more consistent than with HFrEF risk, such that increasing BMI above the normal range (≥25 kg/m2) was associated with a greater increase in risk of HFpEF than HFrEF,” the authors wrote.
“These findings suggest the possible preventive role of lifestyle patterns for HFpEF in the community. In addition, these findings could also have implications for future guidelines aimed at the prevention of HFpEF in the general population. Adequately designed randomized prevention trials are needed to further evaluate this hypothesis and to determine its implications for clinical and public health practice.”
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Pandey A, LaMonte M, Klein L, et al. Relationship between physical activity, body mass index, and risk of heart failure [published online February 27, 2017]. J Am Coll Cardiol. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2016.11.081.