title: Mechanisms of heart failure in obesity.
abstract: Heart failure is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and its prevalence continues to rise. Because obesity has been linked with heart failure, the increasing prevalence of obesity may presage further rise in heart failure in the future. Obesity-related factors are estimated to cause 11% of heart failure cases in men and 14% in women. Obesity may result in heart failure by inducing haemodynamic and myocardial changes that lead to cardiac dysfunction, or due to an increased predisposition to other heart failure risk factors. Direct cardiac lipotoxicity has been described where lipid accumulation in the heart results in cardiac dysfunction inexplicable of other heart failure risk factors. In this overview, we discussed various pathophysiological mechanisms that could lead to heart failure in obesity, including the molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac lipotoxicity. We defined the obesity paradox and enumerated various premises for the paradoxical associations observed in the relationship between obesity and heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States. Electronic address: ebong@usc.edu.
authors.forename: Imo A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Ebong
authors.affiliation: Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, United States.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Goff
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, United States; Department of Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Carlos J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Haiying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, United States; Department of Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Alain G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Bertoni
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids
keywords: Heart failure; Mechanisms; Obesity