THE HEART IN YOUNG MEN WITH OBESITY MANIFESTING ITSELF IN PUBERTY
Twenty-nine young men with obesity manifesting itself in puberty, including 15 obese men with arterial hypertension (AH) and 14 obese men without AH, were examined. The blood lipid spectrum of the patients was determined. Their hearts were examined using echocardiography. Normal left ventricular (LV) geometry was found to be somewhat more common in the absence of AH than in the presence of elevated blood pressure (BP). Concentric and eccentric LV hypertrophy was observed with equal frequency in the above groups. Regardless of their BP level, the young men with obesity had the enlarged walls of the LV without its cavity dilatation. Altered transmitral flow E and A velocities along with the enlarged left atrium suggest that there is a prerequisite for the development of diastolic dysfunction in obesity during puberty.