Heart disease and weight loss - how to lose weight?

How to lose weight in heart disease?

Obesity carries a serious risk of complications for the cardiovascular system. Cardiovascular patients should follow a diet specially developed for them. Cardiovascular patients should give up salty dishes.

In obese and overweight people, cardiac rhythm disorders occur more frequently than in people with normal weight, and circulatory insufficiency doubles. Arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, elevated cholesterol levels, coronary artery disease, heart attacks are often the consequences of untreated obesity.

Persons with cardiovascular diseases must ensure that their body weight is correct. In obese people, even with good arterial pressure, unfavourable changes in the heart develop, such as left ventricular hypertrophy.

A proper diet will help you lose weight.

A weight loss programme for obese or overweight people who suffer from heart diseases should be set by a doctor. However, there are general principles that apply to all patients.

Reduce daily calorie intake by 500-1000 kcal. For weight loss women the daily calorific demand is estimated at 1000 - 1200 kcal and for men at 1400 - 1800 kcal.

Eat regularly and slowly. Avoid eating between meals.

Your diet should consist primarily of vegetables, legumes and wholemeal products because they contain fiber and are saturating.

Select products containing unsaturated fats (sweet sunflower oil, soybean oil). This type of fat helps reduce arterial pressure, but due to its high calorie content it is recommended in small quantities.

Reduce the consumption of products containing a large amount of cooking salt (also avoid chips, nuts, etc.).

Prepare steaming, cooking without fat or baking in foil.

Frying and baking with a lot of fat has an adverse effect on the heart's work and promotes the development of atherosclerosis of blood vessels.

Restrict the consumption of fats and products of animal origin: red meat, sausages, offal, pâtés, poultry, game, fatty milk, butter and cheese containing saturated fatty acids to promote tying and increase in the level of' bad' cholesterol.

Replace meat meals with fatty sea fish - they contain omega-3 and omega-6 acids, which help to lower cholesterol levels.

Physical activity in heart disease is always indicated

The intensity of physical activity for people with heart disease should be determined by the physician. It is recommended to perform simple aerobic physical exercises of moderate intensity (walking, Nordic walking, outdoor homework, cycling).

They oxygenate the body and help to burn fatty tissue. This results in regular exercise of 20 to 60 minutes at least three times a week.

Pharmacological treatment can help

Pharmacological treatment may be an aid to weight loss treatment. In people with heart disease, the physician must be consulted and adjusted to the patient's needs if attempts of non-pharmacological treatment have failed. The main medicines in the treatment of obesity are drugs inhibiting appetite and drugs reducing absorption in intestines, but the decision about the type of pharmacological treatment belongs to the doctor.

What diet for heart health?

In the case of some medical conditions, good nutrition is a complementary element pharmacological treatment. The right proper nutrition helps to recover, maintain health, fitness and figure.

To recover, maintain your weight!

You should regularly check your body weight and know if it is appropriate for your height. You can do this by calculating your  body mass index (BMI). 

To calculate BMI, divide your body weight, specified in kilograms by the squared your height in metres. The location of the deposition of of body fat. Particularly harmful is an excess of fat in the internal organs, i.e. obesity called the "apple" type - with a large waist circumference.

According to the latest recommendations for women waist circumference should not exceed 80 cm, 94 cm for men.

Note: Office work puts you at risk of developing particularly dangerous abdominal obesity and the entire so-called metabolic syndrome, which carries the risk of cardiovascular complications. Fat accumulated around the waist increases the risk of: diabetes, hypertension and even heart attack or stroke. In people whose body weight is normal weight, but with a marked accumulation of fatty tissue around the waist, the risk of diseases related to associated with overweight and obesity is much higher than in people with a non-fatty waistline.

A healthy diet

What should a daily healthy diet?

Before you leave for work, eat a wholesome breakfast. Always start your day with a meal. This will boost your metabolism. Take breaks for a warm meal. Eat at least at least 3 meals a day, at regular intervals, approximately every 4 hours. 

Eat your last meal at the latest 2 hours before going to bed.

Make sure that your diet is a varied diet, including both both plant and animal products and plenty of fresh vegetables.

Introduce marine fish into the menu at least twice a week.

Limit your consumption of red meat to 3-4 times a week.

Choose lean meat (e.g. poultry without skin). Lean poultry meat does not contain cholesterol.

Eat fruit and vegetables 4-5 times a day.

Remember, however, that fruit contains a high high sugar content.

Replace white bread with whole-grain bread.

Limit your intake of sugar and sweets.

Drink about 2 litres of still, low-sodium water daily 2 litres of low-sodium still water every day.

Try to replace salt with herbs.

Don't add salt on your plate.  Canned foods, cold cuts and even bakery products contain considerable amounts of salt. 

Note: Requirements for dietary elements are individualised, varying according to your age, gender, daily activity and work and work performed, as well as your state of health.

Overweight and obesity resulting from an unhealthy diet are among the factors that significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.