The role of echocardiography in the evaluation of cardiac damage in hypertensive obese patient.
Obesity rates are rising worldwide. Often obesity is associated with hypertension leading to an increased cardiovascular risk. Both obesity and hypertension induce several modifications in cardiac structure and function, particularly atrial and ventricular remodeling is a common finding shared by these two conditions. It has been demonstrated obesity leads to: left ventricular (LV) mass increase, LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction, left atrium (LA) size increase, LA function alterations and pericardial fat accumulation. Nowadays, the development of cardiac imaging techniques allows to early identifying any preclinical damage related to hypertension and obesity. This could be very important in order to improve patient management and medical therapy.
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy, pasqualecrea@hotmail.it.
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D016279:Atrial Function, Left; D064752:Atrial Remodeling; D001794:Blood Pressure; D004452:Echocardiography; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling