Fig. 7.

Average left ventricular peak strains at stress in the (a) longitudinal, (b) radial, and (c) circumferential directions at the indicated times with respect to diet initiation from experiment 2. All strains are reported as positive to facilitate visual comparison (i.e. lower strains imply impaired function). Statistically significant differences between groups by linear mixed models were observed with respect to longitudinal and radial strains over time, with post-hoc findings of individual time point differences denoted by stars. Longitudinal strain was reduced in the obese group at 22 and 55 weeks; radial strain was increased at week 4, but reduced by week 55