Specific features of left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive obese women. An echocardiographic study
Lusiani, L.; Ronsisvalle, G.; Ambrosio, G.B.; Nicolin, P.; Baggio, B.; Inelmen, E.M.; Enzi, G.; Visonà, A.; Scaladalai, E.; Pagnan, A.
International Journal of Obesity 13(6): 809-816
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0307-0565 PMID: 2533585 Document Number: 334941
The echocardiographic features of the left ventricle of 37 obese women (body mass index above 30) and 37 lean controls, matched for sex, age, height and blood pressure values, were studied. In each group 26 patients were hypertensive. The normotensive obese patients did not show any differences, comparing with the normotensive controls; rather, the hypertensive obese patients had higher left ventricular mass (LVM), stroke volume and cardiac output (CO), and lower total peripheral resistance (TPR) than had the hypertensive controls. A positive correlation was found between the LVM and the CO in hypertensive obese patients and between the relative wall thickness (h:r, that is the ratio between the left ventricular wall thickness and the left ventricular radius) and TPR in the hypertensive controls. It was concluded that obesity per se does not determine left ventricle hypertrophy in women, however, when obesity is associated with arterial hypertension, a distinct pattern of hypertrophy, characterized by high CO and low TPR, develops.