Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Patients with Obesity: An Expert Perspective

Obesity is strongly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), making early prevention efforts crucial to reduce the risk of CVD in patients with obesity. How can physicians tailor preventive cardiology interventions to address the individual needs and challenges faced by patients with obesity? That is a question Patient Care Online recently asked Anila Chadha, MD, family physician and obesity medicine physician at Dignity Health Medical Group in Bakersfield, California. “An atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk score should be calculated for each patient,” Dr Chadha said to Patient Care. “Once the risk estimate is calculated, patients can be placed in 1 of 4 risk categories: low, borderline, intermediate, and high. Once we have that information, decision making becomes easier as to whether initiate statin therapy and hypertensive therapy.” If the ASCVD risk score is underestimated or overestimated, then Dr Chadha recommends using a coronary artery calcium score to reclassify the patient’s risk. More details from the conversation in the video above.

Anila Chadha, MD, is also obesity medicine director at Mercy Weight Loss Surgery Program in Bakersfield, CA.