Role of heart rate in the relation between regional body fat and subendocardial viability ratio in women

Subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR) is a measure of left ventricular function, specifically; it is an index of myocardial perfusion relative left ventricular workload. Women have lower SEVR than men, partly due faster resting heart rate that reduces diastolic time (i.e., time for myocardial perfusion). It is unclear if body fat relates to SEVR, thus the purpose of this study was to examine the relation between body fat and SEVR in women. Twenty-eight middle-aged (31-45y) and 31 older (60-80y) women were examined. Radial artery applanation tonometry was used to calculate SEVR from a synthesized central aortic pressure wave. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to assess body composition including fat in the trunk, legs, android and gynoid regions. Body fat was not related (P>0.05) with SEVR in older women. In middle-aged women, all measures of regional fat were correlated with heart rate (range, r=0.49-0.59, P≤0.01) and SEVR (range, r=0.48-0.58, P≤0.01). Android-to-gynoi