Correlation of Diagnostic Components of Metabolic Syndrome with Electrocardiographic and Echocardiographic Alterations in Patients with Obesity

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MS) and obesity are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, the development of cardiovascular pathologies in obese individuals without MS is being investigated. Objective: To investigate whether there are similar electrocardiographic (ECG) and echocardiographic changes in individuals with obesity with and without MS. Methodology: A retrospective, descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with obese patients at a university hospital in Belém, Pará, Brazil. Anthropometric, laboratory, ECG and echocardiographic data were evaluated in both populations. The chi-square test was used to describe the relationship between variables among groups; hypothesis tests with p <0.05 were considered statistically significant values. Results: The study evaluated 100 individuals with obesity, 60 of whom had MS. The average age was 54 years, and the female sex was prevalent. Systolic blood pressure, HDL, and waist circumference were altered in both groups. Systemic arterial hypertension and low HDL demonstrated 4.27 times and 3.32 times greater likelihood of presenting changes in the ECG and echocardiogram for both groups. On the ECG, diffuse changes in ventricular repolarization were observed in both groups. On echocardiography, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and left ventricular hypertrophy were present in both populations studied. Conclusion: Obese individuals without MS present a similar risk, requiring adequate attention to their cardiac health.