title: Overweight and its association with aortic pressure wave reflection after exercise.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity is associated with arterial stiffening, left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, and diastolic dysfunction. However, there is no data regarding dynamic changes in arterial hemodynamics with exercise in overweight subjects. We hypothesized that overweight women would show a different exercise response in wave reflection compared with lean women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 59 overweight and 68 lean nondiabetic women (mean age 63 ± 7 years) underwent symptom-limited supine bicycle exercise testing with simultaneous two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. Central hemodynamics including central aortic pressure and augmentation index (AIx) were obtained at rest and immediately after peak exercise using radial artery tonometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overweight women showed a higher LV mass index (lean vs. overweight; 40.2 ± 10.2 vs. 45.3 ± 11.0 g/m(2.7), P = 0.007) and a lower early diastolic mitral annular velocity (6.3 ± 1.8 vs. 5.5 ± 1.6 cm/s, P = 0.013) than lean women. Although the two groups did not differ in peripheral and central hemodynamics including AIx (36.3 ± 11.7 vs. 36.8 ± 10.2%, P = 0.830) and AIx normalized for heart rate 75/min (AIx@75, 30.4 ± 11.5 vs. 30.1 ± 9.9%, P = 0.885) at rest, AIx (20.9 ± 11.5 vs. 27.6 ± 10.4%, P = 0.004) and AIx@75 (25.8 ± 10.2 vs. 31.6 ± 7.7%, P = 0.002) at peak exercise were significantly higher in overweight women. In simple correlation analysis, body mass index (BMI) showed significant correlations with AIx, and AIx@75 at peak exercise, whereas no relationships were found with those parameters at rest. Multiple regression analysis showed that BMI was an independent determinant of AIx@75 at peak exercise (β = 0.28, P = 0.004).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite similar resting peripheral and central hemodynamics, the wave reflection in overweight women after exercise differed from that in lean women. These findings suggest that being overweight is related to higher wave reflection after exercise.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, Severance Cardiovascular Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chi Young
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Woo-In
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Sungha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Min-Kyung
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Young-Guk
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Donghoon
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Yangsoo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Namsik
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Jong-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Ha
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001011:Aorta / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D004452:Echocardiography; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D050177:Overweight / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D059289:Vascular Stiffness; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling