0000000000593019
AUTHOR
R. Scaglione
Obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
Obesity and overweight have great clinical and social significance and are associated with a number of medical and surgical complications. We attempt here to summarize current knowledge on the subject and describe the research we are presently carrying out in this field. After a brief introduction, definition, and discussion of etiopathogenesis, the indexes of ponderal excess and epidemiology are illustrated. The cardiovascular adjustments and the relationships between obesity and hypertension, ischemic heart disease and congestive heart failure are then treated. One aim of our investigation was to study the modifications of an entire set of biological and clinical parameters which could co…
Obesity: A main factor of metabolic syndrome?
The metabolic syndrome (MS) is a common metabolic disorder that has been recently related to the increasing prevalence of obesity. The disorder is defined in various ways, but in the near future a new definition(s) will be applicable worldwide. The pathophysiology has been largely attributed, in the past years, to insulin-resistance, even if several epidemiological and pathophysiological data are attractive to indicate visceral obesity as a main factor in the occurrence of the MS, promoting new definitions and re-valuation of the pathogenesis of this syndrome. In this review, we have analyzed the role of visceral obesity in the new definition of the MS such as the pathophysiological role of…
Methodological matters on an Alzheimer's dementia trial: is a double-blind randomized controlled study design sufficient to draw strong conclusions on treatment?
Letter to Editor
Effect of obesity on left ventricular function studied by radionuclide angiocardiography
Several studies have shown a significant association of obesity with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The present study was carried out to investigate central and systemic haemodynamics in overweight and moderate obese, but otherwise healthy subjects, and in a lean control group to determine whether obesity can influence left ventricular performance per se. In this study an attempt has been made to eliminate misleading factors, such as diabetes, lipid abnormalities and hypertension. A total of 67 subjects, 44 with overweight or moderate obesity and 23 lean healthy subjects, were included. Patients were divided into three groups according to BMI levels and Garrow's criteria as follows…
Left ventricular function response to exercise in normotensive obese subjects: influence of degree and duration of obesity
This study has been designed to evaluate whether duration and severity of obesity can influence left ventricular function response to exercise in obese subjects without other known cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes or hyperlipoproteinemia. A total of 29 obese subjects were included and they were divided, according to their body mass index and to Garrow's criteria as follows: Overweight or mildly obese subjects: body mass index from 25 to 30 kg/m2; moderately obese subjects: body mass index30 and40 kg/m2. Both obese groups were further subdivided according to their duration of obesity evaluated by accurate anamnesis in subgroup A (duration of obesity less than 120 mo…
Obesity, hypertension and atherosclerosis
Hypertension and obesity are associated with an increased risk of clinical cardiovascular complications due to atherosclerosis. Moreover has been reported that hypertension may predispose to atheroma development. In the present review some common aspects to hypertension and atherosclerosis including smooth muscle cell proliferation, endothelial damage and intervention of growth factors have been analyzed. Additional data have to be provided to explain if the connections between hypertension and atherosclerosis could be considered two effects with one unknown cause. In addition some aspects related to obesity and atherosclerosis have been dissected. In particular we have reported our results…