Providing independent clinical excellence since 2005
At Surrey Cardiovascular Clinic, we move beyond detecting risk to delivering a tiered, personalised framework for metabolic and cardiovascular prevention. Using real-time tools like CGM, the DoctorShape app, imaging, and nurse-led coaching, we help patients reduce visceral adipose tissue, improve insulin sensitivity, and restore metabolic health through lifestyle-first, data-guided care.
At Surrey Cardiovascular Clinic, we focus on preventing heart disease by tackling its metabolic roots early. Using advanced imaging, metabolic phenotyping, CGM, and tailored lifestyle or pharmacological interventions, we help patients reduce visceral adipose tissue (VAT), improve insulin sensitivity, and shift from risk to resilience through precision, feedback-driven cardiometabolic care.
The most effective path to reducing visceral fat without medication is not just to “eat less.” It’s to build more muscle, eat smarter, and track your progress. In this blog, which also forms one of the chapters of an ebook, I outline the programme and tools our patients use in our cardiometabolic clinic.
Visceral fat (VAT) is the dangerous, hidden fat stored around your organs that accumulates. when caloric intake exceeds energy demand, since glucose and fats that can’t be used gets stored as adipose tissue. This blog explains how ageing, muscle loss, glucose spikes and genetic factors all drive VAT accumulation — and how reversing the cycle requires restoring mitochondrial health, increasing muscle mass, and in many people, by reducing glycaemic overload.
If have been told your weight is high but your blood tests are “fine”, or if you are living with breathlessness or atrial fibrillation, you may be wondering how your body fat is really affecting your heart and lungs.
If you’re taking GLP-1 mimetics like Mounjaro, Ozempic, or Wegovy, you’re receiving a legitimate, medically prescribed therapy. Just like someone with asthma carries an inhaler, or a diabetic uses insulin, there’s no shame in needing a jab to support your metabolic health. Whether you are travelling or attending a hospitality event, here are some tips on how to navigate these new waters.
For patients with CKD 3b, a high-protein diet may accelerate renal decline and should be avoided. However, metabolic improvement via a moderate low-carbohydrate diet with controlled protein intake (~0.8 g/kg/day) and unsaturated fats is both feasible and safe when guided appropriately. Creatinine changes should be interpreted carefully in the context of diet, and dietary interventions should be closely monitored.
When most people think of a cooked breakfast, they picture something indulgent — bacon, eggs, toast, maybe pancakes or juice. But my version of a cooked breakfast is carefully designed to help reduce visceral fat (VAT), improve satiety, and support stable energy levels throughout the morning. Here's how I do it — and why it works.
Adipose tissue—particularly visceral adipose tissue (VAT)—is not merely a passive energy store. It is metabolically active and pro-inflammatory, secreting cytokines and adipokines that drive systemic inflammation. It is therefore plausible that reducing VAT may alleviate joint pain by lowering inflammatory signalling, not just mechanical stress.
We use waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as a screening tool, followed by low-dose CT to measure VAT index (VATI) against gender- and ethnicity-specific thresholds. Where VATI is high, patients enter a six-month digital lifestyle programme using tools like the Dr Shape food app, CGM, and body composition scales. Pharmacological therapy, including GLP-1 receptor agonists, is reserved for non-responders—making this a precise, cost-effective, and highly personalised pathway for VAT reduction.
Patients often ask about home monitoring tools — ECG devices, blood pressure monitors, glucose apps. We now also encourage people to track their waistline and visceral fat, using body composition scales alongside more traditional equipment.To support this, I have created a page of recommended home gadgets that can help patients take greater ownership of their health — a vital step towards a more proactive, prevention-focused model of care, guided by their clinical and educational team.
For years, the Mediterranean diet has been praised as one of the healthiest ways to eat. Rich in vegetables, olive oil, fish, nuts, and whole grains, it’s been linked to lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. But why does it work so well?