Mechanisms of Left Atrial Enlargement in Obesity

Left atrial (LA) enlargement is common in obesity. We sought to determine the influence of ventricular (LV) remodeling on LA size in obesity. We studied 50 otherwise healthy obese subjects (body mass index 37.2 ± 4.6 kg/m 2 , 50 ± 6 years) and 58 age and gender-matched nonobese controls (body mass index 26.2 ± 2.9 kg/m 2 , 52 ± 5 years). Diastolic function, relative wall thickness (RWT), and LV mass were assessed using echocardiography. LA and LV volume was measured by 3D-echocardiography. Primary outcome was the ratio of LA volume indexed to LV volume in obese and control subjects. Obese subjects had substantially larger LA volumes compared with control subjects (61.0 ± 16.9 vs 38.9 ± 9.2 ml, p 2 p