[Visceral obesity, hypertension and cardio-renal risk: a review]

Abstract

Great part of obesity adversity is due to its cardiovascular/coronary risk, particularly present in obese with visceral adiposity distribution. Visceral fat deposition is known to be associated with a greater prevalence of metabolic, neurohormonal, inflammatory and hemodynamic disorders, which together will be implicated in microvascular and target organ involvement, particularly to the cardio-renal axis. In this aspect, beyond its classical association with coronary disease, visceral obesity has been associated with left ventricular hypertrophy and microalbuminuria, which are known cardiac and nephrologic risk factors. So, therapeutic tools for obese patients, specially for those with hypertension, must accomplish the risk stratification based on body fat distribution, which will allow a more adequate therapy in terms of risk factors control as well as target organ damage monitoring.