ARTERIAL AND VENOUS COMPLIANCE IN OBESE AND NONOBESE SUBJECTS

Obesity and systemic hypertension frequently coexist in the same patie nt and are considered independent risk factors of cardiovascular disea se. Hemodynamic studies have shown that obesity and hypertension exert disparate cardiovascular effects.(1-3) Compared with nonobese patient s with the same arterial blood pressure, obese patients have lower per ipheral resistance. This study assesses arterial compliance and centra l blood volume as an indirect index of peripheral venoconstriction in obese and nonobese normotensive and hypertensive patients.