Traditional reliance on body mass index (BMI) as a marker of cardiovascular risk is increasingly being challenged by emerging evidence emphasizing the role of central obesity. Recent findings suggest that measures such as waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio may be more reliable predictors of heart failure risk than BMI alone. In a cohort of nearly 2,000 adults followed for approximately seven years, central adiposity showed a significant association with incident heart failure, whereas BMI did not demonstrate a similar predictive value.
Importantly, systemic inflammation measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) was linked to poorer heart failure free survival , highlighting its role as a potential mechanistic mediator. Further analysis revealed that inflammation accounted for approximately 25–28% of the association between central obesity and heart…
