Overweight or mildly obese patients have better outcomes following a stroke than patients who are at a normal body weight, according to a study published in Journal of the American Heart Association.
Boston University Medical Center researchers followed a group of Framingham Heart Study participants, measuring their body mass index before a stroke. They matched these stroke cases to other participants with similar demographics and BMI category. They separately analyzed both groups to see if being overweight or obese had an effect on stroke survival over 10 years.
Researchers found that those who were "overweight or mildly obese had better survival after stroke than normal weight participants," said corresponding author Hugo J. Aparicio, MD, assistant professor of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine. He also said that the survival benefit was strongest in males or in those younger than age 70.
The researchers caution that the results do not indicate that obesity is protective and note the increased survival rate could be explained by other influences like not smoking or medication use. "Nevertheless, observing this so-called 'obesity paradox' has important clinical implications and it is essential for clinicians and researchers to better understand the role of body weight in recovery after stroke so that they can make proper recommendations on weight loss or weight maintenance," Dr. Aparicio said.