Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease

The number of individuals who are obese or overweight has dramatically increased over recent years and is now becoming epidemic.These individuals are more likely to suffer cardiovascular diseases and therefore physicians, specialists and trainees increasingly need to deal with these issues on the ward and in clinic. As a result, the need for appropriate knowledge of up-to-date clinical management of obesity and its associated cardiovascular problems is essential for any practising physician. Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease is a readily assimilated pocket guide to obesity and cardiovascular disease. It is intended to be used 'on-the-go' and is compact enough to be on hand whilst in consultation with patients. It provides a clear and succinct overview of contemporary clinical management of cardiovascular risk stratification, and fully covers the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular in obese patients and individuals with increased visceral adiposity, translating up-to-date clinical research findings into clinical practice. Particular emphasis is placed on recent updates in practical care in obesity and cardiovascular disease, such as new diagnostic techniques and novel pharmacological and surgical approaches, as well as cardiac visceral fat, ethnic differences in adiposity-related cardiovascular risk, and metabolically healthy, but obese subjects. Topics are presented in an easily accessible format with numerous illustrations, photographs, tables, diagnostic and therapeutic algorithms while highlight boxes summarise the main concepts discussed in each chapter. Provides an up-to-date, clear and essential guide to the clinical management and treatment of obesity and its cardiovascular complications Contains numerous figures and tables demonstrating new imaging markers of adiposity and obesity-related cardiac risk Includes guidelines for strategies for assessing cardiac risk and solving clinical problems in obese subjects Enables specialists and trainees to make quick and accurate clinical decisions in obesity-related cardiac risk Gianluca Iacobellis , Associate Professor of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CANADA Prof. Iacobellis obtained his MD cum laude in 1994 at the University of Roma, Italy; he was a Research Fellow at the Centrum for Metabolism/Endocrinology, Karolinska University, Sweden in 1999; a Specialist in Diabetology/Endocrinology & Metabolic Disorders in 2000 and PhD in Endocrinology/Metabolic/Cardiovascular Disorders at the University of Roma, Italy, 2004. In 2004-5 he was a Post-doctoral Clinical Research Fellow at the Human Nutrition Center, Dallas, Texas, and Clinical Research Fellow in the Cardiovascular Obesity Research & Mgmt and Bariatric Clinic at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada 2005-6, where he is now Ass. Professor of Endocrinology, as well as Director of Bariatric Endocrinology, St. Joseph's Hospital, Ontario, Canada. He has written/co-written 60 peer-reviewed papers and ten textbooks. His interest is mainly on cardiovascular risk in obesity. He pioneered echocardiographic epicardial fat quantification as a marker of visceral adiposity and a therapeutic target. Contributors: Navneet Singh, Bachelor Health Sciences Honours, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and Senior Medical Student at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Dennis Wei, Bachelor Life Sciences Honours, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada and Biomedical Communications Fellow at University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada CONTENTS 1: Obesity and the cardiovascular system: redefinition of this relationship 2: Obesity definition, classification, phenotypes, and worldwide prevalence 3: Metabolically healthy obesity 4: Adipose tissue and the heart 5: Markers of adiposity 6: Echocardiography in obesity 7: Obesity and atherosclerosis 8: Obesity and hypertension 9: Electrocardiogram and arrhythmias in obesity 10: Obesity and heart failure 11: Obesity and peripheral venous diseases 12: Obesity and obstructive sleep apnoea 13: Weight loss strategies 14: Major trials in obesity Further reading