heart and obesity

[adel_ezz]

My mother 58 years old was very slim at her youth. In recent years she became very obese. Being not a doctor, yet i suspected problems with her heart or some water retention.i.e. kidney issues. A few weeks ago she traveled to Europe and caught pneumonia due to hard weather conditions. But that was not a curse since coming back we did x-rays and she got rid of the effusion in lungs and is recovering. Yet the x-rays showed the leftlobe bigger meaning some swelling in the heart. So we did echo on the heart and discovered she has a regerge due to a weaker mitral valve the doctors decided she must have had during childhood rheumatic fever which she denied. Anyway, my question what forum i would better address my questions concerning these types of questions especially that i am worried about her obesity which is bursting. I am sure this is related to the heart issues but i can't tell how, i.e. can't tell the connection. I don't see her eating much. her doc is giving her lasix pills though. But i need to know whether there is a connection between the heart and obesity because i am sure it's some kind of water retention. Her kidney's functions are normal though according to tests. Also the thyroid is ok.
adeif  

[adel_ezz]

Thank you very much Ireneo
yes now everything is clear
sorry to have bothered you. True a bad heart may lead to fluid retention. That is the issue i had wished to hear. Now i am positive.
many thanks and hope the best of health for you
adel

[ireneo]

A bad heart may lead to fluid retention (which we've already discussed), it can slow a person down which may lead to weight gain and certain medications can lead to weight gain. In your Mom's case it might be hard to tell which came first. But even people with heart failure can manage their weight through dietary changes and some approved activities. I have friends that have had heart surgery, have ICD's (defibrillators) and take all kinds of heart meds but they're still able to go to the gym and stay active.

I hope your Mom can find a balance and get to feeling better soon.

The pituitary gland is in the head and overall controls growth and metabolism.

[adel_ezz]

Thank you very much. That the obesity affects the heart that is known. It's the opposite which i am concerned about. That whether the heart affects obesity
thanks

[ireneo]

Obviously I'm not a doctor and can't do a good job of explaining it all. If you google "obesity and heart disease" there's a great explanation by the American Heart Association. The choice is titled Obesity and Heart Disease: A Statement for Health Care. I don't want to copy and paste it here. Not sure about the rules concerning that. But you could look it up, look it over and read how obesity can tie in with heart problems. It mentions things like high BP, high cholesterol levels, breathing problems. It also spells out how obesity can affect someone's heart even if they don't have high BP yet. Hope that helps.

[adel_ezz]

Thank you very much ireneo

>>>I do know heart problems will cause fluid retention
no i'm talking about 60 lbs at least

>>>More than that you're looking at heart failure
Yes i am worried. I am thinking of that exactly. But the thing is i'm trying to understand the correlation of your sentence between heart failure and obesity. How do they relate. In fact the echo said heart failure, but her cardiologist whom we trust said heart failure are 4 stages she is stage 1 only. So my question to you: does a weak heart makes one obese? she got energy she walks, i mean does not look she is dying now

>>>They checked her pituitary gland as well?
what is the pituitary gland. I know the thyroid only

many thanks
adel

[ireneo]

Ah, I see. I do know heart problems will cause fluid retention but we're talking about 10 lbs maybe. More than that you're looking at heart failure. You said her thyroid is OK. So what about the things difficult to measure - stress and big changes in her life, depression that might cause her to eat inappropriately. You said you don't see her eat much but does she have time alone to indulge in goodies? I don't know. They checked her pituitary gland as well?

I hope the doctors find the cause. Like I said, the extra weight and blood volume can put a strain on her heart. It sounds like she's already having problems there. Glad her kidneys are still working well. Take care.

[adel_ezz]

Thank you Ireneo. Of course she is under a good cardiologist no doubt. except that i am trying to find the cause of her obesity. I know well that people of old age get more obese than youngsters more quickly, but this was all of a sudden in a few years time. So i only want to know when does the heart cause weight gain. Just that. OR perhaps there are no connections whatsoever between both. I believe there is one and i need someone to tell it to me. Her kidneys are OK but i told you she has problems chronic ones with the mitral valve so could this be the reason. Since her doctor put her on lasix so he beleives she has water retention. But wherefrom if the kidneys are ok. Perhaps i need a detective to investigate it
thanks
adel

[ireneo]

This is excellent for your heart related questions whether it's valve, cardiomyopathy or fluid retention. As for weight problems, there is a forum for weight loss but I think that would have to be up to your Mom to face that. Unless you're fixing all her meals she'll have to reach a point where she's ready to take care of the extra weight and hopefully improve her health.

The extra weight does put an extra burden on the heart however. I hope she's being treated/monitored regularly by a cardiologist now. She's too young to give up on her life.