Arterial stiffness, body fat compartments, central hemodynamics, renal function and left atrial size.

Background: Left atrial (LA) size is an important predictor of stroke, death, and atrial fibrillation. It was demonstrated recently that body fat, arterial stiffness and renal functions are associated with LA diameter. However, data are lacking for comprehensive assessments of all these risk factors in a single population.

Renal morphology assessed by ultrasound in relation to central haemodynamics and body fat.

There is a correlation between renal function and the morphological characteristics of the kidney. However, little is known about the association between renal morphology and other important predictors of the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as central haemodynamics or body fat. Thus, in the present study we investigated correlations between renal morphology, body fat and central haemodynamics.

Pulse pressure amplification in relation to body fatness.

What Is Already Known About This Subject: Aortic-brachial pulse pressure amplification (PPA) is a measure of arterial elasticity and it is also an independent cardiovascular risk factor. The PPA is mainly determined by age, height, central and peripheral pressure waveforms characteristics, including measures of arterial stiffness and wave reflection.

What This Study Adds: In this study, however, we demonstrate that PPA is also significantly associated with indirect indices of body fatness.