title: Excessive Weight and Obesity Are Associated to Intra-Ventricular Asynchrony: Pilot Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Excessive weight and obesity (EwO) are independent factors in the development of heart failure; they lead to a state of myocardiopathy via inflammatory and hormonal mechanisms. If excessively accumulated, epicardial fat favors a proinflammatory state. Ventricular asynchrony is a marker of heart failure progression and has been poorly studied in EwO. The objective was evaluate the relation between epicardial fat, body mass index (BMI) and mechanical synchrony measured by echocardiography, in healthy individuals with EwO.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included 55 healthy individuals between the ages of 18 and 35, 17 had a BMI < 25 kg/m(2) (30.9%) and 38 had a BMI > 25 kg/m(2) (EwO group) (69.09%), anthropometric measurements, transthoracic echocardiogram and synchrony evaluation were obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Left atrial volume, telediastolic and telesystolic left ventricular volumes and the baseline volume of the right ventricle were greater in the EwO group (20 mL/m(2) vs. 15 mL/m(2), p = 0.001; 106 mL vs. 82 mL, p = 0.0149 vs. 32 mL, p = 0.001 and 34 mm vs. 31 mm, p = 0.02, respectively). The Yu index also correlated with epicardial fat, r = 0.53, p < 0.01, whereby the greater the amount of epicardial fat, the greater the dispersion timing of ventricular activation. The systolic synchrony index also correlated with the BMI, p = 0.01.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mechanical intraventricular asynchrony is associated to EwO and the amount of epicardial fat; hence, asynchrony may be one more factor leading to heart failure in EwO individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Echocardiography, "Ignacio Chávez" National Cardiology Institute, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Nydia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ávila-Vanzzini
authors.affiliation: Department of Echocardiography, "Ignacio Chávez" National Cardiology Institute, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Cyntia Zulema
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: Machain Leyva
authors.affiliation: Department of Echocardiography, "Ignacio Chávez" National Cardiology Institute, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Luis Eduardo
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Castellanos
authors.affiliation: Department of Echocardiography, "Ignacio Chávez" National Cardiology Institute, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: José Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Arias Godínez
authors.affiliation: Department of Echocardiography, "Ignacio Chávez" National Cardiology Institute, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: María Eugenia
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ruiz Esparza
authors.affiliation: Intermediate Care, Clinical Foundation Médica Sur, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Hector
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Herrera Bello
keywords: Excessive weight; Intraventricular asynchrony; Obesity