Obesity And Heart Failure

In the past doctors thought, overweight patients had increased risks of developing heart failure due to complications from diabetes, coronary heart disease, and high blood pressure yet new studies show that obesity leads to heart failure without the other medical conditions present. The studies also show that even excess body weight tremendously increases the risks even when the person is not considered obese.

One study was based on 5881 people who volunteered for the case study at the institution. The people were either obese or overweight during the 14-year study. Those people that were considered overweight had a risk of developing heart failure 34% greater than the non-overweight individuals. The ones considered obese had a risk factor of 104%.

The fact that obese individuals, had a higher risk rate, caused alarm for the doctors in the medical field, since this new study brought to light; a new medical condition previously never known. The fact proven by the study showed even healthy people are still at risk for heart disease by decreased amounts. Overweight and obese people, based on the results, began to be counseled to lose weight to lower the risk of possible heart failure.

Obesity leads to heart failure because the problems associated with obesity such as left ventricular hypertrophy known as LVH, which is the thickening of the walls of the left regions of the heart. Over time, LVH can lead to heart failure.

Obesity is associated with metabolic syndrome X that is a metabolic disorder causing the lipid abnormalities. Both LVH and metabolic syndrome lead to heart failure in obese and overweight individuals.

The treatments designed at improving the LVH and metabolic syndrome X can help with stopping heart failure. The theory has been tested in clinical studies, while it is still highly recommended individuals lose the excess weight to lower their risks of the medical conditions. Using a healthy low caloric diet and exercise, many individuals lower their risks as well as reducing the risks of hypertension, lipid abnormalities, metabolic syndrome X, and other heart diseases; they were previously considered at high risk to get.

Doctors used the studies to counsel patients on the importance of weight loss and weight management citing the study results as proof the patient was at high risk. Many patients, required the study as proof they were at risk, since in the past many had been informed differently.

The fact remains that obesity raises the risk levels for heart disease. Heart disease is an extremely serious condition, which must be recognized and taken seriously by both the doctor and the patient; so proper treatments can be used to lower the risks and prolong the life of the patients.