Risk of heart disease cut in half after Bariatric surgery
SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2006 – New research shows that bariatric surgery patients reduced their risk for cardiovascular disease by more than half and were less likely to undergo heart surgery to correct blocked arteries compared to patients with morbid obesity who did not have surgery. 31-12-2006
 Researchers in Canada presented their findings today at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS). They compared 1,035 patients who had bariatric surgery to 5,746 patients who had morbid obesity but did not undergo surgery from 1986 to 2002.
“No other treatment has been shown to have this much impact on preventing or reducing heart disease in patients with morbid obesity,” said Nicolas V. Christou, MD, PhD, lead author from McGill University Health Center in Montreal, Quebec.
Bariatric surgery patients were five times less likely to experience arrhythmias, irregular heartbeats that may lead to cardiac arrest or death; 1.96% (20/1035 patients) compared to those who did not have surgery, 10.8% (623/5,746) patients. The bariatric surgery group also reduced other cardiovascular diseases by half including, pulmonary oedema, fluid in the lungs that can lead to respiratory failure; 0.58% (6) compared to 1.37% (79). Cases of angina pectoris, severe heart pain caused by inadequate blood flow to the heart, was 5.02% (52) in the bariatric group compared to 9.54% (548) in the non-surgery group.
On average, bariatric surgery patients lost 67.1% of their excess body weight. Patients were followed up to five years.
Additionally, the bariatric surgery group required less heart surgeries. Only 0.65% (7) in the bariatric group received coronary artery bypass grafts, a procedure to relieve chest pain and improve heart muscle function, compared to 2.36% (135) in the non-surgery group. Coronary angioplasty, a procedure to clear blocked heart arteries, was 0.98% (10) in the bariatric surgery group and 2.76% (156) in the non-surgery group.
In 2001, approximately 64.4 million people in the U.S. had some form of cardiovascular disease, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
As with any surgery, the risks and benefits should be carefully considered by the surgeon, the patient and the patient’s family. According to the ASBS, the average mortality rate in an ASBS Center of Excellence is 0.3 percent after 90 days based on an analysis of 33,000 patients. A 2004 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)* showed 0.1% mortality for laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) patients, 0.5% mortality for gastric bypass patients and 1% mortality for biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) and duodenal switch (DS) patients.
In 2005, the ASBS reported that an estimated 170,000 people in the U.S. had bariatric surgery. About 15 million or 1 in 50, adults in the U.S. have morbid obesity, which is associated with numerous other diseases and conditions including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, hypertension, asthma, cancer joint problems and infertility. The direct and indirect costs to the healthcare system associated with obesity are about $117 billion annually.
The ASBS is the largest organization for bariatric surgeons in the world. It is a non-profit organization that works to advance the art and science of bariatric surgery and is committed to educating medical professionals and the lay public about bariatric surgery as an option for the treatment of morbid obesity, as well as the associated risks and benefits. It encourages its members to investigate and discover new advances in bariatric surgery, while maintaining a steady exchange of experiences and ideas that may lead to improved surgical outcomes for morbidly obese patients. For more information about the ASBS visit www.asbs.org.
* Buchwald H, Avidor Y, Braunwald E, Jensen M, Pories W, Fahrbach K, Schoelles, Bariatric surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA, 2004,292:1724-57.
Source: www.asbs.org.
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