[Myocardial geometry and function in overweight and obese adolescents]

Abstract

114 obese (BMI > 97th age-sex percentile) and 27 overweight (BMI 85-97th age-sex percentile) adolescents (10-18 years) were studied using tissue Doppler echocardiography for the assessment of the geometry of the left ventricle and it's systolic and diastolic functions. Subjects were age and sex matched and grouped according to BMI: + 1-2 SD (Group 1); + 2-3 SD (Group 2) and + > 3 SD (Group 3). It was established that the process of cardiac remodeling in adolescents begins with an initial thickening of the interventricular septum (IVS) at the background of normal values of the myocardial mass index (MMI). The obesity was associated with eccentric myocardial hypertrophy. There were significantly increased stroke and minute volume as a result of increasing end diastolic Ieft ventricular volume without significant changes of the intracardiac kinetics, which contributes to the preservation of ejection fraction within reference values. The IVS kinetic properties were increased and posterior wall's were decreased. The central hemodynamic is hypokinetic in all groups due to enlarged body surface area. Revealed a progressive decrease in the number of subjects with normal diastolic left ventricular function and increase ones with pseudonormal and restrictive types. There is a tendency to increasing the late diastolic filling and decreasing the isovolumetric relaxation time both absolute and relative to the cardiac cycle.