Left Ventricular Morphology and Function in Normotensive, Metabolically Healthy Obese Individuals without Fatty Liver Disease.

Background: Obesity is one of the major risk factors for the development of heart failure (HF), although the exact underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the clinical setting, assessing the impact of obesity on the cardiovascular system is difficult due to comorbidities.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate an independent influence of obesity on the left ventricular (LV) morphology and function.

Ultrasound- and biomarker-based assessment of hepatic steatosis in patients with severe obesity.

Introduction: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver abnormality, but its noninvasive diagnosis in patients with severe obesity remains difficult.

Objectives: Our aim was to investigate the usefulness of the ultrasound‑based hepatorenal index (HRI) technique and 2 biomarker‑based methods, including the hepatic steatosis index (HSI) and NAFLD logit score for the diagnosis of NAFLD in patients referred for bariatric surgery.

Patients And Methods: A total of 162 patients, including 106 with NAFLD, admitted for bariatric surgery participated in the study.

The Influence of Surgical Weight Reduction on Left Atrial Strain.

Background: Obesity increases and surgical weight reduction decreases the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF). We hypothesized that surgically induced weight loss may favorably affect left atrial (LA) mechanical function measured by longitudinal strain, which has recently emerged as an independent imaging biomarker of increased AF and HF risk.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated echocardiograms performed before and 12.