Am I at increased risk for coronary heart disease if I used to be overweight but no longer am?

Question

Through high school up until age 19 I weighed around 300lbs. Now I am 170lbs and 23 years old (I'm a 6'0" male). My question is, do the fatty buildups and increased risk of coronary heart disease go away if you lose the weight, or was the damage already done? By dropping to 170 did I undo all the damage or only some?

Answer 1

damage comes, from among other things, high blood pressure and cholesterol build up,,,,, lowing both decreases your risk,,,,,,getting to a healthy weight and diet lowers both,,, at your age, i wouldnt think the damage had alot of build up time,,,,,,,,make sure and check the sodium and fat content of what you eat,,,, as its not just in how much you weigh, but also your diet and family history,,,,, have a check up at the doctor to see what condition you are in now,,,,, and a basic blood work up,,,, you could have a tendency inherited for high cholesterol,,, its best to start yearly or every other year check ups at this age anyway,,,,,,
for example, i have always been thin, yet heart disease runs in my family, we have a tendency to have high cholesterol,,,,, no one knew this years ago, if i hadnt happened to have blood work to show it,,,,, i would of went years with it building up, even though i ate a mostly low fat/lowcholesterol diet,,,,,,,

Answer 2

Congratulations on the weight loss. You've helped your heart out a lot by dropping the weight. However, you might have done some damage when you were overweight. Just keep your weight down, exercise, visit your doctor regularly, track your BP often, and get bloodwork done at least once a year just to be on the safe side.

One thing is for sure, you've extended your lifespan by getting healthier and losing the weight. Good luck!

Answer 3

Losing weight alone does not guarantee a lowered risk, only your doctor and tests can determine that. You could be thin and have a poor diet and no exercise and still have a problem. As stated family history doesn't change. My brother is in his mid 30s and just had a heart attack, never really overweight but our grandfather died at 39 from hrt.attk. so you always need to see a Dr.

but great job losing the weight ... and continued success ...

Answer 4

You are young enough that the possibility of irreversible damage is extremely slim. In fact, you probably have a *better* than average chance of living a very long and healthy life because you've already been obese and obviously have no desire to return to such a condition again. You are much more likely to watch what you eat and exercise regularly.

Get to your doctor for a physical and make sure they do a complete blood workup. You'll want to know your cholesterol and triglyceride numbers, as well as have a number of other important numbers checked (blood sugar, etc).

Congrats, and stay healthy!

Answer 5

Hello. Yes you are at risk of heart disease. This is due to the fact that your mouth is highly vascularised (large amount of blood vessels leading to and from the mouth to the heart). This means that it's incredibly easy for an infection to get into your blood stream and potentially travel to the heart. You should regularly go to the dentist and see what interventions you can do in order to prevent this from happening. Make sure you brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss!! Another thing my dentist says to me is to make sure you leave a bit of toothpaste on your teeth when you go to bed at night. You can also reduce your risk of heart disease by implementing a healthy lifestyle. Make sure you exercise regularly, keep your BMI within the recommended range (I know they aren't always accurate but it's a good generalised tool to use), eat a healthy balanced diet (make sure you're eating your vegetables and fruit especially) and get plenty of sleep at night.

Answer 6

You sure have done a good job by shedding wieght that much. Yes, u now have a reduced chance of getting any heart disease. Im not sure what happens to the fat already in the arteries. but just to be on the safe side, make sure u take stuff with low cholestrol.

Answer 7

That depends, if damage has already happened, then you are at increased risk. Otherwise you aren't.

Even if damage has already happened, losing weight doesn't hurt.

Answer 8

No, you are not, if you cut an extra 5 lbs.
Regards,
Dr.Qutub.

Answer 9

Mostly Heart Diesese occurs in Fat people only so i think you are safe