Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 16, 2026
A Model of Cardiac Remodeling Through Constriction of the Abdominal Aorta in Rats
Published on: December 2, 2016
Association of Weight and Body Composition on Cardiac Structure and Function in the ARIC Study (Atherosclerosis Risk
Natalie A Bello1, Susan Cheng1, Brian Claggett1
1From the Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY (N.A.B.); Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (S.C., B.C., A.M.S., G.Q.R., A.B.S.S., S.D.S.); Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (C.E.N., J.C.); Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN (D.G.); Pharmacy Practice Division, University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, Madison (O.V.); Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX (D.A.); Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (A.R.F.); Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson (K.R.B.); and Cardiovascular Medicine Section, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC (D.W.K.).
Insights
Obesity, measured by body mass index, waist circumference, or body fat, is linked to cardiac structure and function abnormalities in older adults. These findings highlight obesity
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Obesity Medicine
- Cardiovascular Imaging
Background:
- Obesity is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
- The specific impact of different body composition measures on cardiac health, independent of other conditions, requires further clarification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and body fat percentage with cardiac structure and function.
- To assess these relationships using both conventional and advanced echocardiographic measures.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 4343 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.
- Participants were aged 69-82, free of coronary heart disease and heart failure, and underwent comprehensive echocardiography.
Main Results:
- Increased BMI, waist circumference, and body fat correlated with greater left ventricular mass and left atrial volume in both sexes.
- In women, these measures were linked to abnormal left ventricular geometry and reduced global longitudinal strain.
- Obesity measures were associated with right ventricular abnormalities in both men and women.
Conclusions:
- Obesity is associated with subclinical cardiac structural abnormalities in older adults, affecting both sexes.
- Adverse left ventricular remodeling and impaired systolic function were observed in women with obesity.
- These findings underscore the link between obesity and early-stage cardiac dysfunction, particularly in women.
Background:
Obesity increases cardiovascular risk. However, the extent to which various measures of body composition are associated with abnormalities in cardiac structure and function, independent of comorbidities commonly affecting obese individuals, is not clear. This study sought to examine the relationship between body mass index, waist circumference, and percent body fat with conventional and advanced measures of cardiac structure and function.
Methods And Results:
We studied 4343 participants of the ARIC study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) who were aged 69 to 82 years, free of coronary heart disease and heart failure, and underwent comprehensive echocardiography. Increasing body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat were associated with greater left ventricular (LV) mass and left atrial volume indexed to height(2.7) in both men and women (P<0.001). In women, all 3 measures were associated with abnormal LV geometry, and increasing waist circumference and body fat were associated with worse global longitudinal strain, a measure of LV systolic function. In both sexes, increasing body mass index was associated with greater right ventricular end-diastolic area and worse right ventricular fractional area change (P≤0.001). We observed similar associations for both waist circumference and percent body fat.
Conclusions:
In a large, biracial cohort of older adults free of clinically overt coronary heart disease or heart failure, obesity was associated with subclinical abnormalities in cardiac structure in both men and women and with adverse LV remodeling and impaired LV systolic function in women. These data highlight the association of obesity and subclinical abnormalities of cardiac structure and function, particularly in women.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Coronary Artery Disease I: Introduction
01:26Atherosclerosis III: Management
01:25Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System VI: Calcium -Scoring CT
01:26Coronary Artery Disease IV: Preventive Measures
01:26Coronary Artery Disease II: Pathophysiology
01:20Blood Studies for Cardiovascular System I: Cardiac Biomarkers
The essential diagnostic tools for detecting myocardial necrosis and monitoring individuals suspected of having acute coronary syndrome (ACS) include:
Troponins
Troponins, particularly cardiac troponins I and T, are the most precise and sensitive markers of myocardial injury. They are detectable within 4-6 hours of myocardial injury and remain...