Vascular disease: obesity and excess weight as modulators of risk.

Coronary artery diseases leading to heart attacks and cerebral artery disease leading to stroke rank number one and two respectively, in causing acute vascular events. Thrombosis of the veins and pulmonary embolism are major causes of hospital-associated acute vascular events. Increased bodyweight at all stages of life, from the very beginning of life (intrauterine growth), to adulthood, promote risks that are associated with vascular disease. An increase in bodyweight promotes risk factors for developing acute vascular events by a variety of mechanisms. In this article, we briefly describe some of the major risks associated with vascular diseases leading to vascular injury, and the modulatory role that increased bodyweight plays in promoting these risks.