Obesity cardiomyopathy: a review of literature on clinical status and meta-analysis of diagnostic and clinical management

Abstract

Obesity cardiomyopathy (OCM) is a recently described form of heart muscle disorder. However, with the prevalence of obesity rapidly rising, research interest on its deleterious effect on cardiac morphology and function has been on the increase. However, with morphological and functional features mimicking those of dilated cardiomyopathy, research on OCM has been reduced to a sub-type or a secondary cause of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Considerable debate also persists as to whether isolated obesity can directly cause cardiomyopathy in humans since its effect on cardiac function and structure cannot be isolated from those of comorbidities such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance and coronary artery disease. With such extraneous factors, research on IOC has been fragmented and at most inconsistent. The purpose of the present review and meta-analysis is to synthesize current scholarly and practitioner understanding of IOC with a focus on broadening the knowledge on diagnosis and clinical management. *Correspondence to: Aref Albakri, St-Marien hospital Bonn Venusberg, department of internal medicine,