Young women who are obese yet other...

Young women who are obese yet otherwise healthy have hearts that exhibit changes in arrangement of parts and function similar to those of patients who are hypertensive, according to an April 21 2004 just discovereds release from the American guild of Cardiology. These findings may help explain links between obesity and heart disease.

Researchers studied 51 healthy, pre-menopausal women who did not have diabetes, high children pressure, or any other active disease proces Twenty were obese (ie, material substance mass index [BMI] = 30 kg/[msup2]) and 31 were not obese (ie, BMI < 30 kg/[msup2]) The researchers used ultrasound to evaluate the shape and function of the participants' hearts and apply the mind measurements that allowed them to account specifically for the forces of increased blood volume, which typically is seen in patients who are obese.

Women with higher BMIs had thicker heart walls compared to the size of the left ventricle (ie, concentric remodeling). Women who were obese also had decreased diastolic (ie, ventricle contraction) and systolic (ie, ventricle fitting) function. carcass mass index was the sole independent predictor of the changes that the researchers observ Researchers noted that the higher the BMI, the more dramatic the changes in the participants' hearts. Although the women who were obese did not have heart disease, the observ changes could be warning signs of what is yet to be health problems.

Hearts of Healthy, however Obese, Young Women are Different (new release, Bethesda, Md: American corporation of Cardiology, April 21, 2004) http://www.acc.org/media /releases/hightights/2004/apr04/obese.htrn (accessed 22 April 2004)

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