PAPERLeftventricularmassandfunctioninyoungobesewomen{LLCrisostomo1,LMBArau jo2*,ECamara3,CCarvalho3,FASilva3,M Vieira3,CMCMendes3andARabeloJunior11UnitofCardiologyandCardiovascularSurgery,FundacaoBahianadeCardiologiaSalvador,Brazil;2DivisionofEndocrinology,FederalUniversityofBahia,Salvador,Brazil;and3SchoolofMedicineFederalUniversityofBahia,Salvador,Bahia,BrazilOBJECTIVE: Obesity is associated with a high mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease. Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy hasbeen describedin relation toobesity. The aim of this studywas toevaluate echocardiographicallythe LVmass and functioninyoungobesewomenascomparedtoleanwomenwithsimilarcharacteristics.DESIGN:Prospectivestudy.SUBJECTS: Eighty-twoyoungwomen( 40y), withobesitydegreevaryingfromI toIII (BMI from30to50kg=m2) werecomparedtoeightyyoungleanwomen.Allofthemwerenormotensive,nonehadcardiovascularcomplaintsoranyprevioushistory of pulmonary disease, and none were taking any medication. The LV mass was calculated by the Devereux and Reichekformula.RESULTS: The LV mass was strongly increased in all obese groups (P