Fat-reduction surgery may not cut heart-disease risk

Liposuction may not reduce risk for heart disease the way good, old-fashioned diet and exercise can.

It has been shown that belly fat, or waist circumference, is more closely associated with heart disease or risk factors for heart disease than other distributions of fat.  However, how one gets rid of the fat seems to matter in terms of reducing these risks, say physicians at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

“Diet and exercise certainly can reduce abdominal fat and reduce heart-disease risk, as can surgical procedures like gastric bypass, which limits caloric intake,” says Dr. Amit Khera, who directs the UT Southwestern program in preventive cardiology. “Interestingly, studies looking at liposuction do not seem to show the same benefits. Fat reduction by liposuction does not seem to reduce a protein in the blood called C-reactive protein, which is a measure of inflammation and heart disease risk.”

This may be because liposuction targets the subcutaneous, or outer, layer of belly fat but does not reduce the visceral fat that surrounds the intestines and abdominal structures, which is more closely associated with risks for heart disease, he says.

Visit http://www.utsouthwestern.org/heartlungvascular to learn more about heart, lung and vascular clinical services at UT Southwestern.

Media Contact: Katherine Morales

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