Body mass index in patients with acute myocardial infarction

General Medicine, 2024, 26(1), 30-36.

T. Popova, I. Stambolova, D. Blagoeva

Department of Health Care, Faculty of Public Health „Prof. Dr. Tsekomir Vodenicharov, MD”, Medical University – Sofia

Abstract. Overweight and obesity are the most serious pandemic of modern society – in Bulgaria, in Europe and in the world, and lead to a number of health, social, economic and psychological consequences. Obesity itself is associated with a high risk of myocardial infarction, as it participates in atherogenesis independently and independently of other cardiovascular risk factors and causes chronic systemic inflammation on the vascular walls. Objective. The aim of our study was to analyze the frequency and severity of overweight and obesity in patients with experienced acute myocardial infarction. Material and methods. The study included 168 patients hospitalized in 4 university multidisciplinary hospitals with a diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction. The research was carried out in the period August–December 2022. The data on age, sex, height, weight, risk factors for cardiovascular diseases were also studied for all examined persons using the structured interview method. BMI was calculated using an online calculator. It is classified according to the World Health Organization in the following six categories: underweight, normal, overweight and obese I, II and III degrees. A documentary method related to a study of the literary sources on the studied phenomenon, a statistical method and a method of graphic analysis of the obtained results were also used. The statistical processing of the data and the graphical presentation of the results were done with MS Excel 2017. Conclusions. Acute myocardial infarction is a disease of active working age, most often occurring in the 46-55 age range, and not infrequently in young people under 45 years of age. Overweight and obesity are significant risk factors in myocardial infarction survivors, occurring in 9 out of 10 acute myocardial infarction survivors. Only one in ten patients who have survived a myocardial infarction have normal BMI values. Every second person is overweight, and every third person is obese – I and II degrees.

Key words: body weight, body mass index, acute myocardial infarction, prevention

Address for correspondence: Tanya Popova, e-mail: t.popova@foz.mu-sofia.bg