Obesity changes shape of the heart, researcher claims

People living with obesity are more likely to have a heart that that is “geometrically not normal” compared to those with a healthy weight, a cardiology specialist has said.

Dr Gaurav Gulsin, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Cardiology at the University of Leicester, revealed that obesity causes impaired heart function during his presentation at the inaugural Obesity and Weight Management Conference last week. 

According to Dr Gulsin, people living with obesity have more pressure in their heart which can go to the lungs, meaning they could become intolerant to exercise.

He said: “There is a colliding epidemic of obesity and heart failure. There are people with obesity walking around with impaired blood flow to the heart and they do not even know it.”

During his session, Dr Gulsin also identified that obesity at a young age is associated with developing symptomatic heart failure later in life.