The obesity dependence of selected clinical and instrumental characteristics of 10 male patients with arterial hypertension (AH) was evaluated Group I included 79 patients with grade II hypertensive disease (HD), normal body weight and waist circumference. Group 2 comprised 61 patients with grade II HD and abdominal obesity. Patients of both groups showed high frequency of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (59.2 and 73.8% respectively). Concentric LV hypertrophy prevailed in group I and eccentric hypertrophy in group 2. 24 hr ECG monitoring showed that signs of relative coronary insufficiency were recorded more frequently in group 2 and cardiac rhythm disturbances in group I.