Reduced left ventricular mass after treatment of obese patients with sibutramine: An echocardiographic multicentre study.

AIM: In obesity, left ventricular hypertrophy is frequently observed, especially in the presence of hypertension. Following body weight reduction, the left ventricular mass (LVM) is reduced. It is not known to which extent this occurs after treatment with sibutramine.

METHODS

In this multicentre trial, 195 male and female patients (18-65 years of age, body mass index 30-40 kg/m2) were treated for 12 weeks with either 15 mg/day sibutramine or placebo. They were advised to follow mildly hypocaloric reducing diets. Exclusion criteria were blood pressure values >180/110 mmHg and tachycardia (heart rate > or =100 beats/min). Echocardiography in M-mode was performed to determine LVM as well as systolic function.

RESULTS

Body weight was reduced by 6.9 +/- 0.3 kg under sibutramine and by 2.1 +/- 0.6 kg under placebo; body fat was reduced by 5.2 +/- 0.4 kg and 1.6 +/- 0.7 kg respectively. In the sibutramine group, LVM was reduced by 10.9 +/- 24.2 g; LVM indexed for body surface area was reduced by 2.3 +/- 11.8 g/m2 and LVM indexed for body height was reduced by 2.5 +/- 6.0 g/m(2.7). In the placebo group, LVM and LVM indices were not significantly changed. Changes in LVM correlated with reductions in body weight and initial LVM but not with changes in blood pressure or heart rate.

CONCLUSIONS

After 3 months of treatment with sibutramine, obese patients lost about three times as much of body weight and LVM than patients treated with placebo. Therefore, sibutramine may be recommended not only to reduce body weight but also to obtain a regression of the LVM in obese patients with and without hypertension.