ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Obesity dramatically alters the cardiovascular system in several ways that can lead to persistent and escalating dysfunction. Obesity can cause both specifi c hemodynamic changes that are deleterious to myocardial function as well as demonstrable structural alterations in the heart. It is also associated with several pathologic disease states. Signifi cant increases in morbidity are directly related to a patient’s overweight body habitus and can have a profound impact on both quality of life as well as life expectancy. Weight loss can reduce many of these changes.
