Tissue Doppler imaging of the right and left ventricle in severe obesity (body mass index >35 kg/m²)

We investigated right and left heart function in 51 patients with a body mass index of >35 kg/m² who undewent evaluation for gastric bypass surgery using standard Doppler echocardiography and color tissue Doppler imaging. Left atrial diameter (3.7 ± 0.5 vs 3.3 ± 0.4 cm, p <0.001), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (5.0 ± 0.6 vs 4.5 ± 0.4 cm, p <0.001), and left ventricular mass index (119 ± 49 vs 76 ± 26 g/m, p <0.001) were increased in patients with severe obesity. Early diastolic mitral annular velocity (7.5 ± 2.1 vs 9.6 ± 3.0 cm/s, p <0.001), early diastolic/late diastolic mitral annular velocity ratio (1.38 ± 0.6 vs 1.94 ± 1.3, p = 0.007), early diastolic tricuspid annular velocity (7.8 ± 2.6 vs 9.5 ± 2.4 cm/s, p = 0.002), early diastolic/late diastolic tricuspid annular velocity ratio (0.9 ± 0.36 vs 1.1 ± 0.4, p = 0.048), and mitral annular systolic velocity (5.7 ± 1.3 vs 6.5 ± 1.5 cm/s, p = 0.012) were significantly lower in obese patients. Early diastolic mitral inflow/mitral annular velocity ratio was increased in the obese (13.5 ± 4.7 vs 9.1 ± 3.6, p <0.001). Tricuspid annular systolic velocities did not differ.