Study Shows Lipo May Reduce Risk of Heart Disease
By: Joey Hollingsworth
Updated: September 27, 2011
Liposuction may do more than tighten your belt a few notches.
According to a new study presented at American Society of Plastic Surgeons annual meeting, it could also have long term benefits for your heart.
Those who are tired of sucking it in often choose to have it sucked out. Now it turns out liposuction might help shrink your waistline and your risk for heart disease.
A new study of 300 liposuction and tummy tuck patients looked at levels of fat molecules in the blood -- like cholesterol and triglycerides -- before and after surgery.
If either of these blood fats are too high -- the chances of having a heart attack or stroke go up.
Turns out triglycerides disappear with the unwanted fat.
Plastic surgeon Eric Swanson, MD says "It wasn't a small decrease, it was quite a dramatic decrease. It was 43% among participants who had raised triglycerides before surgery."
Lead researcher doctor Eric Swanson said liposuction had a bigger impact on triglyceride levels than medication or diet and exercise.
"If we reduce the volume of fatty tissue in the body it actually reduces the levels of the things those fat cells produce, like triglycerides," says Swanson.
But Dr. Swanson says the research doesn't support liposuction as a treatment for high triglycerides.
"I don't think you should have the procedure necessarily with that as your objective, but if you're a candidate anyway it sure doesn't hurt," Swanson says.
Experts with the American Heart Association say it is possible that liposuction has a positive effect on blood fats -- but whether this translates to a lower risk of stroke or heart attack needs more study.
The researchers say liposuction had the biggest benefit in patients who were near their ideal body weight. They say because obese patients have more fat to start with, liposuction may not remove enough to have a big impact on triglyceride levels.
According to a new study presented at American Society of Plastic Surgeons annual meeting, it could also have long term benefits for your heart.
Those who are tired of sucking it in often choose to have it sucked out. Now it turns out liposuction might help shrink your waistline and your risk for heart disease.
A new study of 300 liposuction and tummy tuck patients looked at levels of fat molecules in the blood -- like cholesterol and triglycerides -- before and after surgery.
If either of these blood fats are too high -- the chances of having a heart attack or stroke go up.
Turns out triglycerides disappear with the unwanted fat.
Plastic surgeon Eric Swanson, MD says "It wasn't a small decrease, it was quite a dramatic decrease. It was 43% among participants who had raised triglycerides before surgery."
Lead researcher doctor Eric Swanson said liposuction had a bigger impact on triglyceride levels than medication or diet and exercise.
"If we reduce the volume of fatty tissue in the body it actually reduces the levels of the things those fat cells produce, like triglycerides," says Swanson.
But Dr. Swanson says the research doesn't support liposuction as a treatment for high triglycerides.
"I don't think you should have the procedure necessarily with that as your objective, but if you're a candidate anyway it sure doesn't hurt," Swanson says.
Experts with the American Heart Association say it is possible that liposuction has a positive effect on blood fats -- but whether this translates to a lower risk of stroke or heart attack needs more study.
The researchers say liposuction had the biggest benefit in patients who were near their ideal body weight. They say because obese patients have more fat to start with, liposuction may not remove enough to have a big impact on triglyceride levels.
