Obesity May Top Hypertension as Risk Factor for LA Enlargement

And they don't mean Los Angeles.

"Both obesity and hypertension were independently significant risk factors for left atrial (LA) enlargement--a risk factor for atrial fibrillation--in >1000 persons in the community who were followed with echocardiography over a decade, but obesity was the most predictive of the two, report investigators in the November 17, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Obesity was also related to the magnitude of change in LA volume, which was especially large in persons who were both hypertensive and obese."

Kudos, fatsos.