The collected data should provide a base for the health risk assessments on animals and humans in the near future. It should be emphasized that the sampling was carried out 5 years after the military action and that the number of samples was limited; therefore, the conclusions should be accepted only as observed tendencies and a detailed study should be recommended in the future.

Obesity is defined as an excess body fat that impairs health and is associated with increased risk of heart failure (HF), particularly HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), evolving into a 'HFpEF obesity phenotype'. The interplay between obesity and cardiorespiratory fitness, primary clinical parameters in HF, requires further exploration. The contribution of body composition compartments in the development and progress of HF has been the object of numerous studies. Here we focus on how fat mass and lean tissues affect cardiorespiratory fitness, with emphasis on their effects on peak oxygen consumption. Moreover, while several studies have focused on characterization of body composition compartments, here we describe also recent findings related to abnormal and/or dysfunctional lean mass, especially in HFpEF.

The presented study is a part of the long term ongoing project on the health risk assessment on animals and humans in the region. The collected data is intended to provide a base for the animal and human risk assessment as well as an estimate of the general pollution status of the environment in the region. Since some of the investigated elements are classified as important trace elements for livestock, the results could also be used to balance and improve the animal diet and thus, improve the growth and reproduction rate.

Results point to a flattening VO trajectory as a likely new and strong predictor of events in HF with any ejection fraction. Given the relation of right-sided cardiac dysfunction to pulmonary hypertension, this oxygen pattern might suggest a real-time decrease in pulmonary blood flow to the left heart.

No abstract