Getting To The Heart Of Weight Loss

Being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for developing heart failure, and it can also make your heart failure worse. But a new program at Franciscan Health Indianapolis is working to help obese heart failure patients safely lose weight and live happier, healthier lives.

Heart failure is a serious condition where the heart struggles to pump blood effectively. This leads to fatigue and shortness of breath, making everyday activities like walking or carrying groceries difficult. A new study looked at the Indianapolis hospital’s program specifically designed to help heart failure patients lose weight and improve their heart health.

In 2022, an Obesity Task Force at Franciscan Health Indianapolis gathered experts in the fields of cardiology, endocrinology, bariatric surgery, primary care, nursing, health coaching and lifestyle program administration. The task force’s goal: determine the extend weight loss could improve the health of patients with heart failure.

“We are constantly trying to move the needle and come up with innovative approaches to help our patients,” said Vijay Rao, MD, PhD, director of the Heart Failure program for Franciscan Health Indianapolis. “Obesity is one of the largest drivers of poor health outcomes in patients with heart failure, and thus, needs to be a center focus for any program trying to impact heart failure rates and outcomes.”

Qualifying patients are referred to Kate Ziedonis, an advanced practice provider (APP) with Franciscan Physician Network Indiana Heart Physicians.

“Many of them struggled with diets, have lost weight and regained it,” Ziedonis said. “Each patient is quite different on the pathway they’re on.”

Patients are guided throughout their efforts in how to successfully navigate many traditional, proven weight loss methods, including health tracking and food coaching coupled with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which aims to help lower blood pressure through healthy eating.

An emerging treatment being used by the Task Force involves GIP/GLP-1 and GLP-1 receptor agonists, a group of diabetes medications that have gained recent notoriety for their weight-loss benefits. Ziedonis said these medications, combined with lifestyle modifications, have resulted in participating patients losing an average of 11-12% of their body weight.

An unrelated study published this summer in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found people on semaglutide experienced improvement in both their heart failure symptoms and the physical limitations the condition placed upon them. They also had lower blood pressure and a smaller waist circumference after a year on the drug, as well as less inflammation, researchers said.

While more research is needed, the Indianapolis study shows promise for using a combination of lifestyle changes and medication to help heart failure patients lose weight and improve their overall health.

“We’ve seen significant impact on weight loss, quality of life and reduction in hospital admission,” Ziedonis said. “A lot of patients, when I see them and follow up six to nine months down the road, they’re able to do more activities with less knee or back pain.”

A paper on the results of the Obesity Task Force efforts has received national attention with publication in the January 2024 edition of the cardiovascular medicine journal JACC: Advances.

“What’s unique and novel about this is we were able to show in a community-based setting that cardiology teams can step up and impact obesity in this population,” Dr. Rao said. “We hope this collaborative, multidisciplinary Franciscan effort will serve as a model for others looking to improve the lives of the patients they treat with heart failure.”

Losing weight can significantly improve heart function and reduce the risk of complications in people living with heart failure. If you have heart failure and are overweight or obese, talk to your doctor about creating a safe and effective weight loss plan. Remember, even modest weight loss can make a big difference for your heart.

HealthDay News contributed information to this article.