Congestive Heart Failure

Overweight and obesity have been identified as important and independent risk factors for congestive heart failure (CHF) in a number of studies, including the Framingham Heart Study (11, 165-169). CHF is a frequent complication of severe obesity and a major cause of death; duration of the obesity is a strong predictor of CHF (170). Since hypertension and type 2 diabetes are positively associated with increasing weight, the coexistence of these conditions facilitates the development of CHF (171). Data from the Bogalusa Heart Study demonstrate that excess weight may lead to acquisition of left ventricular mass beyond that expected from normal growth (171).

Obesity can result in alterations in cardiac structure and function even in the absence of systemic hypertension or underlying heart disease. Ventricular dilatation and eccentric hypertrophy may result from elevated total blood volume and high cardiac output. Diastolic dysfunction from eccentric hypertrophy and systolic dysfunction from excessive wall stress result in so-called "obesity cardiomyopathy" (172, 173). The sleep apnea/obesity hyperventilation syndrome occurs in 5 percent of severely obese individuals, and is potentially life-threatening. Extreme hypoxemia induced by obstructive sleep apnea syndrome may result in heart failure in the absence of cardiac dysfunction (174).