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Congestive Heart Failure and Weight Loss
| Posted on Jul 22, 2011 |
What is Congestive Heart Failure?
Congestive Heart Failure (or CHF) is a term doctors use to describe a condition where the heart is not able to pump adequate amount of blood to all of the organs.There are many causes of congestive heart failure. Most people with CHF have a problem with the function of the heart muscle which doctors call cardiomyopathy. Some of the most common causes of heart failure are weakened heart muscle because of heart attacks (called ischemic cardiomyopathy), poorly controlled high blood pressure (hypertensive cardiomyopathy), heart valve problems (valvular cardiomyopathy) and even unknown causes (idiopathic cardiomyopathy). However, there are many more causes of congestive heart failure, including obesity.
Signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure are usually shortness of breath (either with exertion or when lying flat), swelling in the legs or abdomen, weight gain and excessive fatigue.
Can Weight Loss and Healthy Choices Prevent Heart Failure?
Many of the health problems associated with being overweight or obese (like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease) also increase your chances of having congestive heart failure. However, weight loss and healthy life style choices decrease your risk of developing CHF.Specific things you can do to lower your risk of developing congestive heart failure include:
- Lose weight if you are overweight or obese.
- Regular exercise.
- Eat a healthy diet like the Achieve-Life diet.
- Follow a low salt diet.
- Treat your blood pressure and cholesterol if recommended by your doctor.
- Don’t smoke.
A simple plan for healthy, permanent weight loss. Visit us to learn how the Achieve-Life weight loss program can help you achieve the life you've always wanted.
All articles on Achieve-Life.com are written by board certified physicians.
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