The effect of moderate weight loss on echocardiographic parameters in obese female patients

Based on the data collected by KNOLL Hungary Ltd. in Hungary in 1999, 37% of the adult population is overweight while 23% is obese. Inappropriate diet containing excess calories and physical inactivity are responsible for these statistical values. In their former studies, the authors investigated the effects of different stages of obesity on the cardiovascular system, and have verified that even moderate obesity elicits pathological geometric and functional changes in the heart. In the present study, effect of a half-year-long life-style modification program on the morphologic and functional characteristics of the heart was investigated in twenty-one obese women. Life-style modification contained a diet with reduced energy uptake (1000–1300 Cal/day) and a regular physical training of minimum 3–4 hours weekly. By the end of the sixth month the weight loss was 5.1 kg (5.9%) on an average. There was a marked reduction in cardiac dimensions measured by echocardiography, with a very slight, non-significant decrease in left ventricular internal diameter, and a marked, significant reduction in the left ventricular wall thickness. Decrease of the left ventricular muscle mass exceeded the decrease of body weight. A marked elevation was found in the E/A quotient that reflected a definite improvement in diastolic function. Results indicate that physical training programs have a favourable effect on the echocardiographic parameters, therefore the process is reversible even without a pharmacological intervention

Echocardiographic changes in the development of the athlete's heart in 9 to 20-year-old male subjects

The purpose of this cross-sectional investigation was to estimate the age at which specific traits of the “athlete's heart”first appear and how they evolve from the beginning of regular physical training until young adulthood in healthy active males. Male athletes (n=389) and non-athletes (n=55) aged between 9 and 20 years were examined by two-dimensionally guided M-mode and Doppler echocardiography. Intragroup differences were examined by t-tests for independent samples between age groups of two years each. Morphologic variables were related to body size by using ratio indices in which the power terms of numerator and denominator were matched. Relative left ventricular muscle mass (LVMM) was significantly larger in the athletic males at age of 11–12, and this significant difference was maintained with advancing age. Most of this increase of LVMM could be attributed to the increase in wall thickness that became significantly manifest first in the 13- to 14-year-old athletic subjects but was demonstrable in all the other groups. A significantly larger left ventricular internal diameter was only found in the age-group of 15–16. Fractional shortening percentage (FS%) did not show any change, while resting heart rate was decreased in our athletic groups