Table 1.

Obesity and cardiovascular diseases: summary of pathophysiological mechanisms.

Condition	Involved mechanisms
Hypertension	Endothelial dysfunction, reduced NO, increased levels of endothelial growth factor, plasminogen-1 and thromboxane A2 increasing peripheral vascular resistance and arterial stiffness
Atherosclerosis	Visceral obesity associated to a rapid progression of coronary calcifications and to a greater vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaques
Heart failure	Neurohormonal imbalance, increased production of ROS, inflammatory mediators, leptin, resistin, visfatin and adipsin and reduced synthesis of adiponectin
Diabetes	Activation of NF-κB, p38 and MAPK pathways, increased levels of IFN γ, TNFα, MCP-1, IL-1β and IL-6 and adipokines leading to insulin resistance and of concomitant metabolic alterations
Venous thromboembolism	Elevated levels of prothrombotic molecules including Factor VII, fibrinogen and tissue factor and increased expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1)
Pulmonary hypertension	Elevated levels of cytokines, TNF-α, and interleukins, IFN γ, insulin resistance and oxidative stress

See the text for abbreviations.