Connect
MJA
MJA

In Other Journals

Ann Gregory
Med J Aust 2005; 182 (1): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb06540.x
Published online: 3 January 2005

Looking for another reason to encourage obese patients to try to reduce their weight? Along with obesity, the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common dysrhythmia, has also been on the increase. Now, an analysis of Framingham Heart Study data suggests that obesity may be a potentially modifiable risk factor for AF. Wang and colleagues studied data from more than 5000 study participants who were followed for an average of 13.7 years. They found that obesity was associated with a 50% increase in the risk of new-onset AF. Further, for both men and women, there was a 4% increase in risk of AF for each 1-unit increase in body mass index. Left atrial dilatation may be responsible for the link between obesity and AF.




Correspondence: 

Author

remove_circle_outline Delete Author
add_circle_outline Add Author

Comment
Do you have any competing interests to declare? *

I/we agree to assign copyright to the Medical Journal of Australia and agree to the Conditions of publication *
I/we agree to the Terms of use of the Medical Journal of Australia *
Email me when people comment on this article

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.