The characteristics of elevated blood pressure in abdominal obesity correspond to primary hypertension: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Obesity-related hypertension and the associated metabolic abnormalities are considered as a distinct hypertensive phenotype. Here we examined how abdominal fat content, as judged by waist:height ratio, influenced blood pressure and hemodynamic profile in normotensive subjects and never-treated hypertensive patients.

Methods: The 541 participants (20-72 years) underwent physical examination and laboratory analyses and were divided into age and sex-adjusted quartiles of waist:height ratio.