The Obese Heart

Abstract

Obesity has been described as a chronic metabolic
disease, characterized by excessive adiposity.1 Most
discussion about the consequences and complications of
obesity revolves around metabolic dysfunction, such as
dysglycaemia, dyslipidaemia and hypertension. There is
also increasing awareness about ectopic adipose tissue
deposition and its deleterious effects.2 Fatty liver, fatty
pancreas and fatty kidneys are terms that are used
frequently in clinical descriptions of the disease. In spite
of the strong link between obesity and cardiac ill-health,
the term ‘obese heart’ or ‘fatty heart’, however, has not
found traction in medical literature. This may be due to
the complexity of obesity’s impact on the heart.

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