Winter heart deaths 'linked to brown fat'

The number of deaths from heart disease and stroke has long been known to increase in the winter, and scientists now believe this may be linked to brown fat.

This type of tissue converts fat into heat, particularly in cold temperatures, and can help to reduce the amount of unnecessary 'white' fat in the body.

However, researchers in Sweden and China now believe that activation of brown fat in the cold winter months may speed up the growth of atherosclerotic plaques in the blood vessels, explaining the seasonal increase in deaths.


Tests on mice with a genetic predisposition to hardened arteries confirmed that the cold activation of brown fat led to 'more fat stored in the blood vessels', according to Professor Yihai Cao from the Karolinska Institute and Linköping University in Sweden.

He added: 'This came as a surprise and was the opposite of what we thought would happen.'

As well as increasing the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the blood vessels, cold weather seemed to make the plaques less stable and more likely to rupture, allowing fat to leak into the blood and block vessels.

Professor Cao - whose findings are published in the journal Cell Metabolism - warned that if the findings are replicated in humans, people with cardiovascular disease might be advised to 'avoid exposure to the cold and to put on warm clothes when they are outside during the winter'.

Read the journal article ADNFCR-554-ID-801607484-ADNFCR

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