The findings, published online in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure, showed that increased waist size was a predictor of heart failure even when measurements of body mass index fell within the normal range.
First author Emily Levitan of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said heart failure occurs when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, is usually caused by existing cardiac conditions, including high blood pressure and coronary artery disease.
The researchers examined two Swedish population-based studies, one involving 36,873 women ages 48-83 and the other involving 43,487 men ages 45-79 who responded to questionnaires asking for information about their height, weight and waist circumference.
Over a seven-year period from January 1998 to December 2004 382 first-time heart-failure events occurred among the women and 718 first-time heart-failure events among men.
Among the women with a BMI of 25, within the normal range, a 4-inch higher waist measurement was associated with a 15 percent higher heart failure rate; women with a BMI of 30 had an 18 percent increased heart failure rate. In men with a BMI of 25, a 4-inch higher waist circumference was associated with a 16 percent higher heart failure rate; the rate increased to 18 percent when men's BMI increased to 30.
