(JNS.org) Israeli researchers at the Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikva say that the thickness of a layer of fat around the heart can predict heart disease. The researchers said that traditionally, doctors and scientists have relied on indicators such as body-mass index, cholesterol and other factors to predict heart disease. But this view has evolved recently to include the role fat cells play.

“Today our understanding is that the functioning of fat cells rather than your weight is a predictor of disease… In recent years we have learned that this tissue around the heart supports the functioning of the heart muscle and the arteries that supply it. At the same time, if this tissue grows too large, it undergoes changes that are detrimental to the health of the coronary arteries and the heart muscle,” said Dr. Dror Dicker, who heads the Clinic for Obesity and Hypertension at the Golda Hasharon campus of the Rabin Medical Center, Israel Hayom reported. “In our paper we have found a correlation between the thickness of the layer of fat as seen in a CT scan and coronary artery disease, and thus this layer of fat can be seen as a predictor of disease,” Dicker added.