Objective: Although obese children are at increased risk for coronary heart disease in later life, it is not clear if the association results from the persistence of childhood obesity into adulthood. We examined the relation of both childhood and adult levels of body mass index (BMI, kg m À2 ) to carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) measured at the (mean) age of 36 years. Design and Subjects: Prior to the determination of adult IMT, the 1142 participants had been examined 7 (mean) times in the Bogalusa Heart Study. Measurements: In addition to BMI, levels of lipids, lipoproteins and blood pressure were measured at each examination. Cumulative levels of each risk factor were based on the areas under the individual growth curves calculated using multilevel models for repeated (BMI) measurements. We then examined the relation of these cumulative levels to adult IMT. Results: Carotid IMT was associated with cumulative levels of BMI in both childhood and adulthood (Po0.001 for each association). Furthermore, the association between childhood BMI and adult IMT persisted, but was reduced, after controlling for adult BMI. Although childhood levels of lipids, lipoproteins and blood pressure were also associated with adult IMT, these associations were not independent of adult levels of these risk factors. Conclusions: These results emphasize the adverse effects of elevated childhood BMI levels. In addition to the strong tracking of BMI levels from childhood to adulthood, there appears to be a modest, independent effect of childhood BMI on adult IMT. The prevention of childhood obesity should be emphasized.

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Abnormal left ventricular (LV) geometry, including LV hypertrophy (LVH), is associated with increased risk of major cardiovascular (CV) events and all-cause mortality and may be an independent predictor of morbid CV events. Patients with LVH have increased risk of congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, sudden cardiac death and stroke. We review the risk factors for LVH and its consequences, as well as the risk imposed by concentric remodeling (CR). We also examine evidence supporting the benefits of LVH regression, as well as evidence regarding the risk of CR progressing to LVH, as opposed to normalization of CR. We also briefly review the association of abnormal LV geometry with left atrial enlargement and the combined effects of these structural cardiac abnormalities.

Body Composition and Heart disease mortalityFor personal use. Mass reproduce only with permission from Mayo Clinic Proceedings a .D espite the well-known adverse affects of obesity on almost all aspects of coronary heart disease (CHD) and CHD risk factors, including hypertension (HTN), plasma lipids, inflammation, glucose abnormalities, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), as well as left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), many studies of cohorts with established cardiovascular (CV) disease, including heart failure (HF), HTN, as well as CHD, have demonstrated an inverse relationship between obesity, generally determined by body mass index (BMI [calculated as the weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters squared]), on subsequent mortality, referred to as the obesity paradox. 1,2 The obesity paradox has also been demonstrated in non-CV studies that included patients with advanced renal disease and the elderly. 3,4 Many large studies of cohorts with CHD have demonstrated this obesity paradox, [5][6][7] which has also been demonstrated in a large meta-analysis by Romero-Corral et al 8 from Mayo Clinic, who analyzed 40 cohort studies totaling more than 250,000 patients with CHD grouped according to BMI.Although BMI is the most frequently used method to assess overweightness/obesity, especially in large epidemiologic studies, this method has been criticized because BMI does not always reflect true body fatness. 1,2,9-14 Some investigators have theorized that at least part of the inconsistent relationship between obesity and major CV disease events, including mortality, may be due to the inaccurate diagnosis of obesity by the BMI assessment and that defining obesity by other methods, including waist circumference, waist/hip ratio, as well as percent body fat (BF) may be more accurate. 2,[9][10][11][12][13] We have recently demonstrated this obesity paradox in a cohort of CHD patients using both BMI and BF determinations. 14 To our knowledge, no prior studies have determined the independent effects of both BMI and BF on mortality in a cohort of CHD patients. Therefore, in the current evaluation, we determined the combined and independent impact of both BMI and BF on mortality in a cohort with stable CHD. PATIENTS AND METHODSWe retrospectively reviewed the case records of 581 consecutive patients with stable CHD who were referred for potential entry into formal cardiac rehabilitation programs between January 1, 2000, and July 31, 2005, and who had baseline anthropometric, lipid, and clinical data, as we have previously described. 14 Patients were divided into low (<25) and high (≥25) BMI. Elevated BF has been defined as greater than 25% in men and greater than 35% in women, 15,16 so patients were also divided into low (≤25% men and ≤35% women) and high BF (>25% men and >35% women Objective: To determine the combined effects of body mass index (BMI) and body fat (BF) on prognosis in coronary heart disease (CHD) to better understand the obesity paradox. Patients and MethOds:We s...

In patients with stable CHD, both LMI and BF predict mortality, with mortality particularly high in those with Low LMI/Low BF and lowest in those with High LMI/High BF. Determination of optimal body composition in primary and secondary CHD prevention is needed.

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