Obesity is associated with aortic enlargement and increased stiffness: an echocardiographic study.

BACKGROUND: Obesity may be associated with early vascular changes. The current study was designed to assess the relationship between obesity and aortic stiffness in two populations, one aged 18-40 years and one aged 41-64 years. METHODS: The study complied 121 subjects, all of them underwent a physical examination, transthoracic echocardiography and blood pressure measurement. Aortic stiffness index (beta) was evaluated from aortic diameter and blood pressure data. RESULTS: beta was higher in obese subjects both in the young (4.26 +/- 1.57 vs. 6.88 +/- 5.96, P < 0.05) and old patient populations (7.13 +/- 4.99 vs. 14.89 +/- 14.64, P < 0.05). Systolic (SD) aortic diameters (in mm) were enlarged in obese young patients (25.7 +/- 2.8 vs. 27.1 +/- 2.5, P < 0.05) and obese old subjects (28.0 +/- 3.0 vs. 30.3 +/- 3.3, P < 0.05). Diastolic (DD) aortic diameter (in mm) showed similar tendency in youngs (22.8 +/- 2.9 vs. 24.9 +/- 2.5, P < 0.05) and old subjects (25.9 +/- 2.7 vs. 28.0 +/- 3.1, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Aortic stiffness is higher in young obese patients and similar to older subjects without obesity. Both SD and DD are increasing with age, but subjects within similar age group have larger SD and DD suggesting early vascular remodelling in obesity.