Diastolic Function Indices among Obese Patients

Background: The increased prevalence of obesity and its strong association with cardiovascular disease has resulted in exceptional awareness for obese individuals. Obesity affects the hemodynamics of the cardiovascular system in general and left ventricular diastolic function in specific. In this study, we aimed to estimate the effect of obesity on the echocardiographic left ventricular diastolic function indices.Patients and Methods: In this case-control study, we included 113 patients from Fayhaa General Hospital in Basrah between Feb and Aug 2016. The patients who were free of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and any history of heart diseases -structural or functional met the eligibility criteria. The patients were divided into three groups based on their BMI including; 45 patients with normal BMI as the control group, 35 overweight patients, and 33 obese patients as case groups.Results: BMI is positively and directly correlated to both Peak A Velocity and DT, and negatively on the E/A Ratio with inverse correlation. Higher BMI is correlated with worsening diastolic function regardless of traditional risk factors for diastolic dysfunction. The increase in age of more than 45 years has a significant association with all the indices of LVDD except for DT. The study reveals that smoking resulted in a significant acute alteration in the LV diastolic function.Conclusions: All obesity grades have unfavorable consequences on the LV diastolic function, with subclinical changes in diastolic indices (Peak E, Peak A, E/A Ratio, and DT), in individuals with no previous comorbidities, even after adjustment for (age, sex, and smoking).