The Cardiac Pathology of Chronic Exogenous Obesity

Appraisal of the gross and microscopic anatomy of the heart was carried out at necropsy in 12 subjects (six men, six women) with marked chronic obesity. In each case the observed heart weight was considerably greater than that predicted at ideal body weight. Nine of the 12 subjects were found to have increase in left ventricular wall thickness, and two increase in right. The increases in heart weight and ventricular wall thickness were due to muscle hypertrophy involving the left ventricle or both left and right ventricles. Neither isolated nor predominant right ventricular hypertrophy was observed. It has been concluded that myocardial hypertrophy is a more specific and significant anatomic alteration in the hearts of very obese subjects than are the previously reported findings of excess epicardial fat and fatty infiltration of the myocardium. The relationship between chronic augmentation of the work of the heart in these subjects and the development of cardiac hypertrophy has been discussed. The findings in this study have been interpreted as providing further support for the propositions that manifestations of myocardial insufficiency do occur in very obese subjects without evidences of other heart disease, that these manifestations are those of predominant left ventricular or biventricular failure, and that isolated cor pulmonale does not develop in the absence of pulmonary embolization.