heart failure and diabetes, and they’re also more likely to have a heart attack or stroke at an earlier age, said Fonarow, who is also co-director of UCLA’s Preventative Cardiology Program.
“If current trends in obesity continue without effective interventions, prior gains in reducing cardiovascular events and extending life may be lost,” he said.
But losing weight can help protect the heart — even later in life. Shedding extra pounds could slow or even reverse these worrisome heart-related changes among young people, Wade said.
Fonarow added that regular physical activity, maintaining healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels and not smoking can also help improve heart health.
Find out more about heart health on our Health Conditions tab on BlackDoctor.org.
SOURCES: Kaitlin Wade, B.Sc., Ph.D., University of Bristol, England; Gregg Fonarow, M.D., director, Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center, co-chief, division of cardiology, and co-director, Preventative Cardiology Program, University of California, Los Angeles; July 30, 2018, Circulation