DOC News May 1, 2006
Volume 3 Number 5 p. 4
© 2006 American Diabetes Association
Bariatric Surgery Reduces Cardiac Risk
Bruce Goldfarb
Weight-loss surgery can have a substantial beneficial effect to reduce the
cardiovascular risks of patients, according to research presented at the
American College of Cardiology Scientific Session, held March 11–14 in
Atlanta.
A group of investigators at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., conducted
a historical study of 197 patients with class II (body mass index [BMI]
35–39.9) or class III (BMI 
40) obesity who underwent Roux-en-Y
gastric bypass surgery at the medical center during 1990–2003. The
surgery patients were matched with 163 control patients enrolled in a
nonsurgical weight-loss program.
Researchers recorded changes in cardiovascular risk such as cholesterol
levels, BMI, and diabetes status over a 3-year period.
Patients who had bariatric surgery were much less likely to suffer
cardiovascular events such as ischemia or heart attack than those in the
weight-loss program (18.3% versus 30%). The researchers estimate that for
every 100 patients undergoing bariatric surgery, 16.2 cardiovascular events
and 4.1 deaths were avoided. However, they add, this assumes that the surgery
is performed at a center with high proficiency and low mortality rates. If the
operative mortality at a medical center nears 4%, the lifesaving benefits of
the surgery are wiped out.
"For the patients who are eligible for [bariatric] surgery, this
suggests a reduced risk of cardiac events or death," says lead
investigator John Batsis, MD. 
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