The effect of hypertension and obesity on left ventricular geometry and cardiac functions in children and adolescents

OBJECTIVES: Obesity and hypertension are associated with structural and functional cardiac change in children and adults. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of hypertension and obesity on left ventricular geometric patterns and cardiac functions assessed by conventional and Doppler echocardiography. METHODS: Four hundred and thirty obese children, aged 6-17 years and 150 age and sex-matched healthy controls, were included in the study. Left ventricular geometry was classified as concentric hypertrophy, eccentric hypertrophy, concentric remodeling and normal geometry. RESULTS: Concentric hypertrophy group had the worst subclinical systolic and diastolic cardiac functions among all left ventricular geometric patterns. BMI and total adipose tissue mass are the predictors of abnormal ventricular geometry. Apart from the increase in carotid intima-media and epicardial adipose tissue thicknesses in different left ventricular geometry patterns, they are not predictable for abnormal geometry. CONCLUSION: The variety of alterations in cardiac function and morphology that has been observed in obese adults, appears to start earlier in life. Obesity and hypertension were clearly associated with the left ventricular geometry. Also, subclinical systolic and load-depended diastolic dysfunctions can be detected in obese hypertensive children with concentric hypertrophy.