How Much Weight Should I Lose After A Heart Attack?

Dr. Franklin answers the question: 'Suggested Weight Loss Post-Heart Attack?'

By
Barry Franklin, Ph.D., Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Laboratories at William Beaumont Hospital
May 2, 2008, 4:30 PM ET
1 min read

— -- Question: How much weight should I try to lose after a heart attack?

Answer: The amount of weight you need to lose after a heart attack certainly depends on where you are to begin with. And we typically in medicine look at the relationship between your height and your weight and we come up with what's called the body mass index.

Ideally we strive to get all of our patients to have a body mass index less than 25, which indicates normal weight. 25 to 30 would indicate overweight, and over 30 would indicate obesity. So in terms of cardiovascular risk reduction, the goal is a BMI as close to as possible 25 or less.

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