Overweight men at more risk of developing irregular heartbeat

Men who are 50 years or above and overweight are more likely to suffer from irregular heartbeat which is almost 10 years earlier than women, says a study.

The study further indicated that at 50 years of age men were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, which is an abnormal heart rhythm characterized by a rapid and irregular beating of the atria, the upper chamber of the heart in which blood enters the heart, while women developed the same condition at 60 years or at older age.

This increased rate was attributed mainly to a higher body mass index (BMI) in men (31%) compared to women (18%).

“We advise weight reduction for both men and women,” said Christina Magnussen, medical specialist at the University Heart Center in Hamburg, Germany.

“As elevated body mass index seems to be more detrimental for men, weight control seems to be essential, particularly in overweight and obese men. It’s crucial to better understand modifiable risk factors of atrial fibrillation,” Magnussen added.

“If prevention strategies succeed in targeting these risk factors, we expect a noticeable decline in new-onset atrial fibrillation,” he noted.

For the study, the team reviewed records of 79,793 people (aged 24 to 97) who were followed for a period of 12.6 to a maximum of 28.2 years.