Heart disease linked to weight gain: Cardiologist

“An extra-large body needs an extra-large amount of blood. When you gain weight, your heart has to pump more blood than it did before. Instead of beating more often, the heart grows slightly larger so it can move more blood with each beat. The increased flow often leads to high blood pressure, which is a major cause of heart disease.”
This information was shared by Dr Sushil Sharma, Head, Department of Cardiology in the Government Medical College and Super-Speciality Hospital (GMC&SSH), Jammu. He was addressing the gathering during a medical camp at Gorkha Nagar. He said, “Even if your blood pressure doesn’t increase, your heart can suffer from extra workload.
“When the chambers of the heart grow large, they slowly lose some of their squeezing power. Eventually, they may not be able to completely empty themselves with each beat. As blood starts pooling in your heart, you can develop congestive heart failure.” He maintained that excess body fat can set off a cascade of other changes in the body that raise the risk of heart trouble.
“If the fat is distributed in the midsection, the risk is higher. A waist measurement of more than 35 inches in women and 40 inches in men spells an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Large amounts of belly fat can blunt the effects of insulin, making you vulnerable to type II diabetes — a condition that seriously threatens the heart,” said Dr Sushil. He was of the opinion that extra fat in the body can also lead to extra fat in the blood.
Dr Sushil said overweight people often have high levels of artery-clogging LDL cholesterol and if too much cholesterol sticks to your arteries, a condition called atherosclerosis, you can suffer a heart attack or a stroke. He added that extra weight can also be a sign that you’re hurting your heart in other ways and many people are overweight because they eat high-fat diets and shun exercise.
Dr Sushil said even if a lean, trim body seems like an impossible goal, a healthier heart is well within your reach. “If you can lose just 10 to 20 pounds, your blood pressure will drop, your heart will shrink to a more normal size, your body will make better use of insulin, and your cholesterol levels will improve,” he said.