The Heart Health Benefits of Weight Loss

There’s no denying the many positive benefits weight loss has on an individual’s overall health. Better sleep, clearer skin, lessened joint pain, and an improved sex life are just a few of the benefits you’ll enjoy when you start dropping pounds.

There is one organ that benefits most substantially from weight loss – your heart! We’ve rounded up some of the health benefits of weight loss that both you and your heart will LOVE.

Reduced risk of heart attack and stroke. According to E. Dean Nukta, MD, medical director of interventional cardiology at Fairview Hospital, a Cleveland Clinic Hospital, “There is no doubt that just by losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight, you can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.” (source)
Improved metabolic function and hypertension. “Even small amounts of weight loss seem to improve metabolic function and hypertension…” says Lisa de las Fuentes, MD, a Washington University cardiologist. (source)
Decreased arrhythmias and increased heart efficiency. Exercise is often a component of many weight loss regiments, and that increased physical activity does wonders for the heart. In a recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Dr. I-Min Lee, an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, states: “Exercise makes the heart less prone to arrhythmias, and it affects the sympathetic nervous system, which brings down your heart rate and allows your heart to work more efficiently.” (source)
Reduced risk of developing high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and other fats, and insulin resistance, as well as metabolic syndrome. From the same study mentioned above, Dr. Lee declares that “exercise also lowers blood pressure and improves your lipid profile and glucose processing, even if you don’t lose weight.” Additionally, “even if you lose weight mainly from dieting, not from exercise, weight loss is good for your blood pressure, for your blood fat profile, and for processing glucose and insulin, and it reduces inflammation. All of those things contribute to better heart health.” The point is that weight loss without regular exercise, and regular exercise without weight loss, both help your heart.” (source)
Lowered risk of blood clots. “Sometimes blood slows down and can form clots. Healthy weight and lower blood pressure generally mean fewer blood clots, so slimming down slightly makes it less likely that a clot will break away and travel to your heart, lungs, or brain.” (source)