“If you are obese, you are at risk of sudden death”… Over the past 20 years, the number of deaths from heart disease among obese people has tripled.

A new study finds that the number of people dying from obesity-related heart disease has nearly tripled over the past 20 years. This is a report by the health and medicine webzine ‘Health Day’ based on the research results of Brown University researchers presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) annual meeting held in Chicago, USA on the 11th (local time).

Alena Mosin, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University who led the presentation, said that deaths from obesity-related heart disease increased 2.8-fold between 1999 and 2020, especially among older men, black adults, Midwesterners and rural residents. “Obesity is a serious risk factor for ischemic heart disease, and this risk is increasing at an alarming rate with the increasing prevalence of obesity,” he said.

Ischemic heart disease is caused by blocked arteries. As a result, if blood and oxygen supply is not smooth, the risk of heart attack increases. Obesity increases cholesterol levels and promotes high blood pressure. It increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and causes sleep deprivation, which increases the risk of heart disease.

Researchers tracked heart disease trends in recent decades through analysis of public health data. Over exactly 21 years, more than 226,000 people recorded heart disease due to obesity as the cause of death on their death certificates. The researchers pointed out that it increased by 5% every year.

The obesity-related heart disease death rate in men increased 243% from 2.1 per 100,000 in 1999 to 7.2 per 100,000 in 2020. The number of men aged 55 to 64 increased by 165% from 5.5 per 100,000 in 1999 to 14.6 per 100,000 in 2020. The mortality rate for women increased by 131% from 1.6 per 100,000 in 1999 to 3.7 per 100,000 in 2020.

When comparing different racial and ethnic groups, black adults had the highest death rate at 3.9 per 100,000. The obesity-related heart disease death rate for rural residents was 4 per 100,000 in 2020, compared with 2.9 per 100,000 for urban residents.

Midwestern states including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin had the highest age-adjusted death rate at 3.3 per 100,000 population. Northeastern states had the lowest death rate at 2.8 per 100,000 people.

Researcher Mohsin said, “We expected deaths due to obesity to increase because the prevalence of obesity has been steadily increasing for several years, but we did not expect the mortality rate to increase to this extent, especially among older men.” He also said, “Racial disparities, especially the high mortality rate among blacks, were also noticeable, suggesting that social and environmental factors may also be playing an important role.”

The new study “highlights the importance of obesity as a major risk factor for ischemic heart disease,” said AHA spokesperson Sadiya Khan, a cardiovascular epidemiologist at Northwestern University School of Medicine. “The relative change in deaths is approximately 30% to 40% higher than the overall increase in obesity prevalence seen in the United States during the same period.”

One potential cause, Professor Kahn said, was that “obesity is more likely to be included on death certificates as obesity becomes more recognized as a risk factor,” but added, “What is important is that we need to do more to identify, manage and treat obesity-related risks.” “It requires a lot of effort,” he emphasized. “Everyone, especially those at high risk, should take steps to manage their weight and reduce their risk of heart disease,” said Mohsin. “Change is important,” he said.