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Histologically measured cardiomyocyte hypertrophy correlates with body height as strongly as with body mass index

Richard E Tracy1, Gary E Sander

  • 1Department of Pathology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1901 Perdido Street, P5-1, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.

Cardiology Research and Practice
|July 9, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Cardiac myocyte size, an indicator of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), increases with body mass. Both lean and fat body mass contribute equally to myocyte enlargement in LVH.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Biology
  • Human Physiology
  • Pathology

Background:

  • Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is characterized by cardiac myocyte enlargement.
  • The relationship between body composition and myocyte size in LVH requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the correlation between histological myocyte dimensions and body composition (lean and fat mass) in individuals with LVH.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of cardiac myocytes from forensic autopsies of individuals with and without LVH.
  • Histological measurement of myocyte cross-sectional widths.
  • Regression analysis correlating myocyte volume with height (proxy for lean mass) and BMI (proxy for fat mass).

Main Results:

  • Myocyte cross-sectional widths followed log-normal distributions across varying ventricular weights.
  • Myocyte size demonstrated a positive correlation with individual height.
  • Regression analysis indicated that lean body mass and fat body mass exert equal influence on myocyte volume, independent of race and sex.

Conclusions:

  • Cardiac myocyte size, as an index of LVH, is influenced equally by lean and fat body mass.
  • These findings suggest that both components of body composition play a significant role in the development of LVH.

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