Medical Barriers: Cardiovascular And/Or Respiratory Disease



Today’s post is another excerpt from “Best Weight: A Practical Guide to Office-Based Weight Management“, recently published by the Canadian Obesity Network.

This guide is meant for health professionals dealing with obese clients and is NOT a self-management tool or weight-loss program. However, I assume that even general readers may find some of this material of interest.

CARDIOVASCULAR AND/OR RESPIRATORY DISEASES

Patients with chronic cardiopulmonary disease (angina, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and reactive airways disease) are often inactive and may be unable to follow recommendations to increase physical activity. Combining cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and exercise training may therefore help patients increase their daily energy expenditure and improve quality of life.

Weight gain and central adiposity independently contribute to increased risk for hypertension, dysglycemia, dyslipidemia, left-ventricular heart disease, ventricular dysfunction, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, peripheral artery disease, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, stroke, and sudden death. Consequently, impaired cardiovascular function is common in obese patients. Symptomatic cardio-pulmonary disease affects a patient’s lifestyle, and treatment may both dramatically improve their quality of life and motivate them to undertake lifestyle changes.

© Copyright 2010 by Dr. Arya M. Sharma and Dr. Yoni Freedhoff. All rights reserved.

The opinions in this book are those of the authors and do not represent those of the Canadian Obesity Network.

Members of the Canadian Obesity Network can download Best Weight for free.

Best Weight is also available at Amazon and Barnes & Nobles (part of the proceeds from all sales go to support the Canadian Obesity Network)

If you have already read Best Weight, please take a few minutes to leave a review on the Amazon or Barnes & Nobles website.