SARASOTA (WSNN) – On the third day of special coverage on Heart Health Awareness Month, we dive deeper into how obesity affects your heart health.
“I think right now, everybody is focused on COVID, it’s the biggest health issue in decades for our generation,” a Sarasota Bariatric Surgeon, Dr. Arun Rao said. “But, it’s also important to know you can’t lose sight of other things, that are going to lead to life-long health and life-long success.”
Doctors say obesity directly affects your cardiovascular health; it could lead to cardiac dysfunction, arrhythmia or require heart stents.
“And certainly, even just carrying that weight around makes the heart work so much harder to be able to do the things that it would normally do,” Dr. Rao said.
Dr. Rao, says it’s important to take the weight off your heart.
“The heart is this beautiful amazing organ in the chest,” Dr. Rao said. “But if you encase it in fat, and I mean literally in fat, you can imagine that’s just going to be a much more taxing scenario for your heart in general.”
“My heart is in better shape than it has ever been,” Sarasota resident, Alix Redmonde said.
Redmonde overcame obesity in her late 20’s after struggling with weight in early childhood. She realized she had to make the change after she went to the gym with her ex-husband.
“He put me on an exercise bike, I was 28 or 29,” Redmonde said. “I pushed the button, and he left me for seven minutes. I woke up on the floor of Gold’s Gym in Palm Springs, California with the owner standing over me. I passed out”
This moment became the turning point in her life. She ate cleaner and dived into her fitness journey.
“I truly believe that taking the weight off and keeping the weight off has allowed me to pursue my destiny, and this is exactly where I need to be,” Redmonde said.
Dr. Rao says weight loss starts with hydration, diet, sleep, stress reduction, and then exercise.
“It’s really important to understand the scale is not always going to tell the whole story,” Dr. Rao said. “Many times, you may lose the inches around your waist, but for some reason, that scale is not moving.”
If you’re struggling, Dr. Rao offers advice:
“Small changes lead to huge results down the road, so don’t give up,” Dr. Rao said. “You’re going to fall off that wagon, the key is getting back on.”
Before engaging in any activity that you don’t normally do, Dr. Rao says it’s essential that you see your doctor to determine whether or not it’s safe for you to engage in that activity.