Imaging may clarify link between obesity and heart disease

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study shows that a type of imaging can show early changes in blood vessels in the obese which may indicate heart disease.
Overweight and obesity continue to rise in the United States and elsewhere. We know that one health problem linked to excess weight is heart disease. Yet the mechanism underlying this link remains unclear.

A team at the University of California, Los Angeles, now points to a technique called SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) which may be able to clarify the link between obesity and heart disease. They have learned that SPECT shows early functional impairment in the heart vessels among obese individuals who do not seemed to have blocked arteries. This could be the first signs of heart disease, even though these people may have no symptoms. SPECT may be used to reveal more about how excess weight leads to heart problems and also pinpoint those overweight or obese people who are most at risk of having a heart attack.

Source
Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting 20th June 2005