Arq. Bras. Cardiol. 2022; 119(2): 265-266
Waist Circumference: A Parameter of Vascular Health
Erika Maria Gonçalves Campana
, Andréa Araujo Brandão
This Short Editorial is referred by the Research article "Correlation among Waist Circumference and Central Measures of Blood Pressure".
Obesity plays a central role in chronic noncommunicable diseases due to its high prevalence and strong correlation with risk factors like hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and morbidity and mortality. In particular, abdominal obesity has been renowned as an emerging risk factor for an inflammatory and prothrombotic state, which is associated with an increased prevalence of hypertension and increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) events. These data are of utmost importance in the scenario of increasing prevalence of obesity not only in adults, but also among children and adolescents., Results of a study conducted in Rio de Janeiro showed an unfavorable relationship of elevated blood pressure (BP) and excess weight in adolescents with increased BP levels and anthropometric and metabolic variables in young adults.
Over the last years, the understanding of the CV continuum has grown, and CV disease has been seen in the context of vascular damage. In this sense, endothelial dysfunction, which results in atherosclerotic disease and its complications, involves the tunica media of large arteries, affected by an accelerated aging of the vessel, resulting in early arterial stiffness and arteriosclerosis, which in turn contributes to CV morbidity and mortality.–
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