A new research shows that both body mass index (BMI) and waist size influence a person's risk of being hospitalized with heart failure or dying of the condition. Dr. Emily B. Levitan of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and team observed 36,873 women aged 48 to 83 and 43,487 men 45 to 79 years old who were participating in long-term studies of the general Swedish population. 382 of the women and 718 of the men were hospitalized for heart failure or died from the disease during six years of follow up. The team found that the risk of being hospitalized with or dying from heart failure for both men and women rose with BMI and waist circumference. For every additional BMI point, the risk of heart failure hospitalization or death increased by 3% in women and 7% in men, while a 10-centimeter increase in waist size boosted risk by 19% in women and 30% in men. The researchers noted that the risk declined in older people because they tend to get frailer with age.