After heart attack, obesity aids some

Obese patients are more likely to live longer after being treated for a specific type of heart attack than people of normal weight, researchers in Germany and Switzerland wrote online June 18 in the European Heart Journal.

The researchers followed almost 1,700 patients who had been admitted to the hospital between 1996 and 1999 with a narrowing of the arteries upon minimal physical exertion. Symptoms included chest pain. They found that people with a high body mass index were less than half as likely to die during the following three years as those with a normal body mass index, according to the study published today.

The findings appear to contradict primary prevention studies suggesting that body mass index is a strong risk factor for death, the researchers wrote, adding that they can’t explain the results. Obesity is associated with diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and other health risks.