Improvement of multiple coronary risk factors in obese hypertensives by reduction of intra-abdominal visceral fat.

The association of obesity and hypertension is well documented, and the combination is important as a coronary risk factor, but its non-pharmacological management is very difficult. Japanese hypertensive obese subjects (HO, n = 95) selected from 321 non-medicated obese subjects with a body mass index > 25 kg/m2 were characterized by the clinical features of significant diaphragmatic elevation, higher heart rate (HR), fasting blood glucose (FBS), total cholesterol (Tch), uric acid and gamma GTP values and lower vital capacity (VC) compared to those of normotensive-obese subjects (NO, n = 226) (p < 0.01). During a diet therapy program (about 1,200 kcal/day) for HO (n = 55), 25 subjects were treated with a non-drug-dependent pulse-synchronized transpercutaneous electric abdominal muscle stimulator (PEM) (ca. 30,000 muscle contractions/day) for 4 weeks. These subjects showed significant improvement with reduction in body weight (9.4%, 7.4 kg), intra-abdominal visceral fat (VF) CT scan area (29%), abdominal subcutaneous area (10%) at the level of the umbilicus, blood pressure (BP), HR, FBS, gamma GTP, Tch, plasma norepinephrine, plasma renin activity and plasma insulin, an increase of VC and lowering of the diaphragm (p < 0.05). The reductions in weight, BP, FBS and Tch in the diet group (n = 30, 1,200 kcal/day for 4 weeks) were smaller than those in the PEM-diet group (p < 0.05). The Japanese hypertensive obese patients had complications of many other coronary risk factors, and the reduction in weight and VF with PEM-diet therapy seems to be effective for improving these risk factors.