Weight reduction could help combat heart disease

Researchers have found that weight reduction program decreases atrial fibrillation and symptom severity.

Hany S. Abed, B.Pharm., M.B.B.S., of the University of Adelaide and Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia and colleagues evaluated the effect of a structured weight reduction program on atrial fibrillation symptoms.

The study was conducted between June 2010 and December 2011 among overweight and obese patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation.

Patients underwent a median (midpoint) of 15 months of follow-up. Patients were randomized to weight management or general lifestyle advice.

Both groups underwent intensive management of cardiometabolic risk factors (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, glucose intolerance, sleep apnea, and alcohol and tobacco use).

The intervention group experienced greater reduction, compared with the control group, in weight and in atrial fibrillation, symptom severity, number of episodes, and cumulative duration in minutes.

"In this study, a structured weight management program for highly symptomatic patients with atrial fibrillation reduced symptom burden and severity and reduced antiarrhythmic use when compared with attempts to optimally manage risk factors alone," the authors wrote.

The study was published in journal JAMA.