obesity causing heart failure

Myocardial tissue phase mapping reveals impaired myocardial tissue velocities in obesity

Even though obesity is linked to heart failure on a population level, not all obesity subjects are develop by cardiac failure. As a result, identifying obesity subjects with changes in myocardial velocities may enable earlier detection of those developing heart failure. As echocardiography is limited in obesity due to a limited window, we used phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging to assess myocardial velocities in obese and normal weight subjects. Normal weight and obesity subjects are without identifiable cardiovascular risk factors underwent MRI to determine left ventricular myocardial velocities using phase contrast tissue and phase mapping. Systolic function was not different between normal and obese subjects. However, obesity was associated with a significantly big peak in radial and longitudinal diastolic myocardial velocity. In addition, peak longitudinal diastolic strain was 20 % lower in obesity and time-to-peak longitudinal rate significantly delayed in obesity.Although peak radial systolic velocity was similar between obesity and normal weight subjects peak longitudinal systolic velocity was 7 % lower in the obese cohort. In obesity without co-morbidities, tissue phase mapping has shown subclinical changes in systolic and diastolic function. Given the link between obesity and heart failure, early detection of changes will become clinically important to prevent disease progression.