Obesity directly causes electrical abnormalities of the heart, according to research from the University of Adelaide. ScienceDaily reports it is the first time that research has shown the link between obesity and heart rhythm disorder.
Cardiologist and PhD candidate Dr Hany Abed is working with the University of Adelaide's Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders and the Discipline of Medicine to determine how obesity affects the heart. Abed is also looking into whether losing weight can actually reduce the risk of developing atrial fibrillation, according to ScienceDaily.
Abed believes that that evidence shows obesity changes the structure and size of the heart muscle and the way it works and contracts, including its electrical function.
When the electrical function of a heart is affected it leads to atrial fibrillation, which is the most common heart rhythm disorder in the world. The disorder affects 10% of people over 75 years of age.
Abed told ScienceDaily, “We already know that obesity causes an increase in blood pressure and puts strain on the heart. Current basic laboratory research using a sheep model also shows that obesity causes electrical abnormalities in the heart chamber.”
For his research, Abed received the Ralph Reader Young Investigator Award from the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand last weekend.
