The pathogenic basis for the development of cardiovascular disease in obesity: difficulties of diagnosis and treatment

Cardiovascular abnormalities associated with morbid obesity include cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac dilatation, diastolic dysfunction. Also obesity predispose to numerous cardiac complications such as coronary heart disease, heart failure, and sudden death. The cardiovascular clinical evaluation of obese patients may be limited by morphological changes, which are specific for increased amount of body fat mass. The incidence of sudden and unexplained death in morbid obesity may be a manifestation of occult cardiovascular disease in this population.