Few overweight people trim down after heart attack

Few overweight people trim down after heart attack
Two audience members watch the 2007 'Farm Aid' concert in New York September 9, 2007. Overweight people lose virtually no weight after suffering a heart attack, according to the first study to evaluate factors associated with post-heart attack weight changes. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Overweight people losevirtually no weight after suffering a heart attack, accordingto the first study to evaluate factors associated withpost-heart attack weight changes.
"On average less than a half of a percent change in bodyweight occurred, and that's really small," Dr. John A. Spertusof the Mid America Heart Institute of Saint Luke's Hospital inKansas City, Missouri, one of the study's authors, told ReutersHealth. People need to lose at least 5 percent of their bodyweight to significantly improve their heart health, he added.
Spertus and his team followed up with 1,253 overweight orobese individuals one year after they had experienced a heartattack. On average, they had lost 0.2 percent of their bodyweight. Overweight people actually gained an average of 0.4percent of their body weight, while obese people lost 0.5percent and morbidly obese individuals lost nearly 4 percent.
People who were depressed put on more weight, as did peoplewho quit smoking after their heart attack. Individuals withouthealth insurance were also more likely to put on pounds.
"People who stopped smoking tended to increase their weightby about 2.5 to 3 percent," Spertus noted. "That's a challengebecause you want people to both stop smoking and lose weight."
Just 18 percent to 25 percent of the study patientsparticipated in a certified cardiac rehabilitation program inthe first month after their heart attack, Spertus noted in aninterview. These programs, which focus on helping peopleincrease activity, eat better, quit smoking and make otherlifestyle changes to improve cardiovascular health, areconsidered the gold standard of post-heart attack care, headded, but not everyone has access to them.
When this is the case, Spertus said, "doctors and officestaff need to fill the role" of encouraging patients to loseweight and quit smoking. When certified cardiac rehabilitationprograms are available, he added, they're often underused. "Wearen't doing as well as we need to be doing."
SOURCE: American Heart Journal, October 2007.