Heart Disease and Weight Gain - by
Brent Harris, M.D.
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The heart is the life pump for
your body; without it, life would end in a matter of minutes.
Coronary artery disease is a consequence of inflammation and
damage to the vessels that feed your heart.
As discussed earlier, smoking,
poor diet, high cholesterol, and hypertension can damage these
arteries. More specifically, atherosclerotic plaques interrupt
flow and decrease the ability of blood to feed the heart. |
Over time, the decrease in blood
flow will become significant when it cannot meet tissue
demand. For example, you might experience chest pain during
exercise. However, if a plaque ruptures, platelets will
activate to form a blood clot, completely disrupting the flow
of blood to your heart tissue. The common heart attack, or
myocardial infarction, occurs when your heart tissue is in the
process of dying. If blood flow remains blocked, heart tissue
will die, scar, and become permanently damaged.
Another consequence of being obese or having hypertension,
involves changes in your heart muscle itself. A condition
called cardiac hypertrophy results, meaning an increase in
heart size. To meet the needs of a larger body filled with an
increased amount of tissue, the heart needs to pump much
harder. Think about it. With extra pounds of fat, your body
needs literally miles of additional blood vessels.
Specifically, the heart's main pumping chamber called the left
ventricle enlarges in obese patients.
The heart compensates by growing larger, much in the same way
a body builder's muscles grow when they encounter heavier
weights. One may think, "That can't be too bad, because
exercise is good for you right?" Unfortunately, a healthy
heart conditioned to exercise is anatomically normal and fully
functional for work at high workloads, while it gets to rest
during the course of the day. In contrast, a heart in an obese
person, especially someone with a body mass index (BMI) over
30, or someone with hypertension, is structurally imbalanced
and required to pump against a heavy load, day in and day out.
In response to the constant loading, the heart muscle becomes
so thick that the function of the pump itself deteriorates.
This impairment generates a vicious cycle, which ultimately
leads to debilitation, congestive heart failure, or even
death.
There is hope. If you find yourself with the thought that you
may have heart dysfunction because of being overweight or
having hypertension, you can reverse the effects with the help
of healthy weight loss and lifestyle modification. With loss
of extra fat tissue and healthier living, the load on your
heart becomes lighter. This is not something that happens
overnight, but will take time under the influence of a healthy
diet plan.
Key Points: Heart Disease
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Left ventricle is the heart's main
pumping chamber.
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Blockage of the heart's arteries
causes coronary artery disease.
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Obesity and associated conditions
cause heart dysfunction.
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Leads to heart failure or death.
Brent Harris, M.D.
TeleSlim Program Director
1-888-229-3454
http://www.TeleSlim.com
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