Impact of obesity and weight loss on cardiac performance and morphology in adults.

Obesity, particularly severe obesity is capable of producing hemodynamic alterations that predispose to changes in cardiac morphology and ventricular function. These include increased cardiac output, left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic and systolic dysfunction of both ventricles. Facilitated by co-morbidities such as hypertension, the sleep apnea/obesity hypoventilation syndrome, and possibly certain neurohormonal and metabolic alterations, these abnormalities may predispose to left and right heart failure, a disorder known as obesity cardiomyopathy.