Donate Help Contact The AHA Sign In Home
American Heart Association
Hypertension
Search: search_blue_button Advanced Search
« Previous Article | Table of Contents | Next Article »
Hypertension. 2008;52:57-58
Published online before print May 26, 2008, doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.108.112441
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
52/1/57    most recent
HYPERTENSIONAHA.108.112441v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Shankar, S. S.
Right arrow Articles by Steinberg, H. O.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Shankar, S. S.
Right arrow Articles by Steinberg, H. O.
Related Collections
Right arrow Obesity
Right arrow Behavioral/psychosocial - treatment
Right arrow Risk Factors
Right arrow Endothelium/vascular type/nitric oxide
Right arrowRelated Article

(Hypertension. 2008;52:57.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorial Commentaries

Weight Loss and Vascular Function

The Good and the Unknown

Sudha S. Shankar; Helmut O. Steinberg

From Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway, NJ.

Correspondence to Helmut O. Steinberg, Merck Research Laboratories, RY34, 126 East Lincoln Ave, Rahway, NJ 07065-0900. E-mail helmut_steinberg@merck.com


An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.
 

Obesity has emerged recently as a major epidemic and is turning out to be a key driving force for the rapid escalation not just in the rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus, but of cardiovascular disease as well. It is estimated that currently ≤300 000 deaths per year are attributable to obesity1 in the United States, with a significant proportion being attributable to cardiovascular events.2 It is known that, in morbidly obese subjects, weight loss by bariatric surgery is associated with a reduction in cardiovascular events. However, there is scant evidence for reduction in cardiovascular events related to weight loss in lower risk overweight and obese subjects.

Endothelial function is impaired in obesity,3 and impaired endothelial function has, in turn, been associated with increased cardiovascular events.4,5 Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesize that weight loss should be associated with an improvement in endothelial function and, thereby, a decrease in cardiovascular events. In the current issue of Hypertension, Pierce et al6 report the results of testing the first part of this hypothesis. They describe the effect of weight loss on vascular function as measured by flow-mediated dilation in the forearm and changes in forearm blood flow in response to intraarterial infusions of acetylcholine, an endothelium-dependent vasodilator, as well as sodium nitroprusside, an endothelium-independent vasodilator. In addition, they looked for predictors of changes in vascular function associated with weight loss.

The authors should be commended for undertaking and completing a challenging study with multiple complexities ranging from patient retention to ensuring . . . [Full Text of this Article]


Related Article:

Weight Loss Alone Improves Conduit and Resistance Artery Endothelial Function in Young and Older Overweight/Obese Adults
Gary L. Pierce, Stacy D. Beske, Brooke R. Lawson, Kara L. Southall, Francoise J. Benay, Anthony J. Donato, and Douglas R. Seals
Hypertension 2008 52: 72-79. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]





Hypertension Home | Subscriptions | Archives | Feedback | Authors | Help | AHA Journals Home | Search
Copyright © 2008 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.