Cardiometabolic Health, Weight & Well-Being

When people think about weight loss, it shouldn’t only be about their appearance. From blood pressure to heart disease, several aspects of weight gain can be concerning for your overall well-being. Cardiometabolic health is a group of systems throughout your body that shouldn’t be ignored.

Franciscan Physician Network cardiologist Anthony Bashall, MD, and family medicine doctor Stacey Lockard, MD, explain why you should care about your cardiometabolic health.

Key Takeaways: Your Cardiometabolic Health

• Good cardiometabolic health is an effective cardiovascular and metabolic system working throughout the body. This includes factors like normal blood pressure, good cholesterol and no insulin resistance.
• Lifestyle changes, including diet, exercise and sleep, can make a significant impact on cardiometabolic health. Medicines like GLP-1s may help some people.
• Talk to your doctor early when it comes to cardiometabolic concerns for tests, lifestyle suggestions and potentially medication.

What Is Cardiometabolic Health?

Cardiometabolic health focuses on optimizing certain risk factors for heart disease. It recognizes several functions throughout the body can be maintained through a heart-healthy lifestyle.

“Cardiometabolic health is that collection of findings in the body, which represent normal blood pressure, acceptable levels of cholesterol and no evidence of insulin resistance,” Dr. Bashall said. “It's often related to being a normal weight and having waist-hip ratios within the correct range.”

Dr. Bashall also explained that cardiometabolic health includes factors like:

• Cholesterol levels are appropriate
• Lipoprotein A levels
• No protein in the urine
• No fat in the liver

“As a cardiologist, one of my favorite tests when I very first meet someone, even if they say they don't have any symptoms, is to get a coronary artery calcium score and go looking for potential blockage,” Dr. Bashall said.

He explained that the findings from these heart scans will precede any cardiovascular symptoms, giving a good opportunity to reach someone before they've developed any serious heart problems.

Why Should I Care About Cardiometabolic Health?

Caring about cardiometabolic health means caring about your quality of life, all while avoiding more concerning visits to your doctor.

Dr. Lockard explained that people who have poor cardiometabolic health tend to develop more chronic diseases, including:

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Kidney failure
• Sleep apnea
• Increased risks for cancer

“They cause a lot of disabilities, which make it a lot harder to do things that people want to do in life,” Dr. Lockard said. “They cause a lot of hospitalizations because of the disease complications. So conditions associated with not caring about your cardiometabolic health can cause a person to increase their risk for dying at a younger age.”

She explained that it’s essential to help people find their diseases sooner and to advise them on what they can change, including their lifestyle.

How Does Weight Impact Cardiometabolic Health?

Cardiometabolic health and a person’s weight are linked in ways that some may not realize.

“The combination of our food environment, our genetics driving us to gain weight, and then the weight gain seen over the last 20 years really drives cardiometabolic disease,” Dr. Bashall said. “If someone has a normal BMI versus someone who has a BMI over 40, they’re more likely to have a reduced lifespan by 10 years.”

Dr. Bashall explained that more people would show concern over cancer care than cardiometabolic health, even though they can relate.

“The more obese you are, the more inflammation you create,” he said. “With more inflammation in your body, there’s a higher chance it can harm your heart, thus promoting cancer. It’s hard to find a medical problem that isn't made worse by increasing adiposity. And the more obese you are, the worse it gets.”

What Lifestyle Habits Have The Biggest Gains On Cardiometabolic Health?

Lifestyle habits that you enjoy doing that promote your health should be your priority, since you’ll naturally be more consistent with them.

“Pickleball is a great example of an activity that keeps people moving, which allows the body to find a healthy weight,” Dr. Lockard said. “Other examples are eating a healthy diet with fruits, vegetables and whole grains like oatmeal.”

She also explained that a good sleep schedule can help your body rest, reset, and reduce its stress response, which can help it thrive at a healthier weight.

When Should I Talk To My Doctor About Cardiometabolic Health?

As a family medicine doctor, Dr. Lockard sees several patients before or at the earliest stages of dysfunction that can lead to poor cardiometabolic health.

“My big ask is that you start talking to your doctor now,” she said. “These are concerns that primary doctors can take care of along with the help of many specialists. Still, the earlier we can screen for these things in our environment and the better.”

If doctors can identify those health concerns early, before you experience significant weight gain, it can be easier to start a cardiometabolic diet, she added.

“It really gets harder as time goes on,” Dr. Lockard said. “Those habits that may not be so healthy, that get us into having poor metabolic health, can really come back to bite us.”

What Are Some Tests To Measure Cardiometabolic Health?

Poor cardiometabolic health can connect to a lot of diseases. Having several tests at different periods can be troublesome for patients throughout their work or school schedule, as well as their finances. Providers may instead take an approach that prevents a “barrier-to-entry” feeling.

“We’ll do high-yield tests to reveal risks to the patient and see what we can treat early,” Dr. Bashall said. “If it comes back that it looks like they are at an increased risk for problems, then we can proceed to other testing later.”

Dr. Bashall explained that many tests can just be done without delay, including:

• Blood work
• Heart scans
• Liver panels
• Kidney panels
• Urine for protein

He explained that tests like these can indicate potential risks to the kidney, liver and heart.

“We can work out the risk of future harm to a person or if they are undergoing higher risk currently and proceed to more testing for more results,” Dr. Bashall said.

What Are Treatments Can Help Cardiometabolic Health?

“I think the one that's front and center are the GLP category of meds,” Dr. Bashall said. “While they aren’t new, our understanding of how they can work is new. For example, even if these meds do not cause weight loss for a patient, I would use them because they have an anti-inflammatory effect.”

Dr. Bashall explained GLP-1 medications can protect against heart attacks and strokes before weight loss occurs. They can also prevent dementia, reduce the risk of cancer, joint pain, reverse fatty liver and improve kidney status.

“You add the weight loss above 10%, and you get a significant cardiovascular benefit with this medication,” Dr. Bashall said. ”There's not a regulatory body in the country that doesn’t recommend GLPs in patients who have been shown to have diabetes and heart disease complicated by obesity. It's even been shown in studies to reverse sleep apnea.”

How Can I Find A Doctor That Specializes In Cardiometabolic Health?

“Many of our colleagues at Franciscan Health are big proponents of finding cardiometabolic health indicators and assessing risk,” Dr. Lockard said. “We are all very happy to assist any person in making their life a little bit healthier.”

At Franciscan Health, you can find several aspects of compassionate care under one roof, including your cardiometabolic health.

Other resources to find a cardimetabolic doctor include the Cardiometabolic Center Alliance and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

Improving your cardiometabolic health can be difficult to do on your own. Talk to your doctor about any lifestyle changes you might need and how best to monitor your progress.