Being Overweight Can Harm The Heart

While you already know that being overweight is not healthy, many people don’t realize just how hard those extra pounds are on the heart specifically. With heart disease still being one of the most common causes of death in the United States, the goal to lose weight becomes all the more important. By realizing how being overweight can harm the heart, you can not only motivate yourself to better health, but also to drop the pounds that may have been holding you back in other ways.

High Blood Pressure
When the human body weighs more, the heart actually has to work harder in order to pump blood from one place to another. This causes the body have a higher blood pressure reading than it might if the body carried less weight. The blood that needs to be pumped from one place to another is used to help carry nutrients and fuel to different areas of the body, while the blood that is taken back from these places has the wastes removed. When this process is harder on the heart, the blood may not circulate as well, causing higher blood pressure, a higher risk of strokes, and many other troubles.
High Cholesterol Levels
If a person is overweight, they are at a higher risk of having higher cholesterol levels. As the body can not easily process cholesterol, it remains in the arteries, clogging them up. This makes it more difficult for blood to flow away from the heart, which can cause higher blood pressure as well, plus these cholesterol deposits can get so large that they completely block blood flow, leading to heart attacks and other heart problems. In some cases, the arteries become so damaged that artificial valves and arteries need to be put into place to prevent future troubles. Along with these higher cholesterol levels are higher levels of bad lipoproteins in the blood, which can also increase one’s chances of heart disease and cardiac incidents.
High Blood Glucose Levels
A person who is overweight may have troubles controlling their blood sugar levels in their body. As a result, the body has to work harder to process these sugars in the body, converting them into pieces of fuel which can be used by the cells. The harder the body has to work to process this sugar, the more damaging it is to the heart. When a person has high levels of blood sugar for longer periods of time, they can also have a greater risk of diabetes, kidney troubles, etc.
When a person is overweight, they can feel that their body needs to work harder in order to do everyday tasks. But the heart is handling a greater load of the work. As a result, the heart is going to wear out more quickly than it was designed to. By simply reducing one’s weight by ten percent, the heart can have some of the burden removed and it can begin to do its job more efficiently.