Bariatric Surgery May Prevent Heart-Related Incidents

Bariatric surgery procedures such as lap band surgery and gastric bypass surgery have been shown to greatly improve a number of obesity-related conditions. There may be another benefit bariatric surgery can add to the list—after a recent study, researchers found that when compared to normal care, bariatric surgery is associated with a reduced number of cardiovascular deaths and a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Cardiovascular events refer to any incidents that may cause damage to the heart muscle.

This study brings good news for those battling with weight issues considering being severely overweight or obese increases their risk of heart attack, stroke or even death.

Previously, bariatric surgery has been proven highly effective for achieving weight loss and treating type 2 diabetes but little was known about its effects on preventing heart attack and stroke risks. So, Swedish obesity researchers were determined to conduct a study that would accurately monitor bariatric surgeries effects on cardiovascular events.

The study was an ongoing controlled trial including 2,010 obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery and 2,037 control patients who receive normal care. Patients were monitored for approximately 15 years and all had body mass indexes of at least 34 for men and at least 38 for women. After the trial, researchers reported only 28 cardiovascular events in the bariatric surgery group compared to the 49 in the control group.

In other words, bariatric surgery was associated with 53 percent reduction in deaths related to heart attack and stroke and 33 percent lower incidence of such events.

This study helps support the claim that bariatric surgery is reducing the incidence of cardiovascular events. More importantly, this study will further strengthen the position of bariatric surgery as an effective and vital form of obesity treatment. Moreover, scientists and researchers hope this study’s findings will stimulate further research trying to identity mechanisms behind weight change much like the independent favorable effects of bariatric surgery.