Weight-loss surgery shown to cut heart failure risk in half

In a new study led by researchers at Geisinger Obesity Institute in Danville, Pennsylvania, investigators were surprised when they saw overwhelming evidence that weight-loss surgery decreased long-term risks of heart failure by more than half in obese patients.

The research, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA), was led by Peter N. Benotti, MD, a senior clinical investigator at Geisinger.

“We were surprised,” Benotti said in an AHA statement. “Ours is the first published study to show that bariatric surgery impacts favorably on the risk of congestive heart failure.”

Earlier this year, the American Diabetes Association recommended bariatric surgery for type 2 diabetes patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, which is considered obese. People with a CMI above 35 are at a higher risk for developing stiff and clogged arteries, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, all factors for heart failure.

In Benotti’s study, which included more than 3,400 patients, half of them received gastric bypass while the other half did not. The group that underwent the procedure saw their BMI drop from an average of 46.5 to 32.5 after five years. BMI remained about the same at 46 in the group that did not have surgery.

After eight years, 24 patients who had the surgery and 55 patients who hadn’t were diagnosed with heart failure. The surgery group also experienced fewer heart attack and strokes than the non-surgery group.

In 2015, there were about 196,000 bariatric surgeries. Of them, less than a quarter were gastric bypass and more than half were gastric sleeve procedures.

“It’s certainly not a quick fix or a simple solution,” Benotti said. “It’s a long-term, lifelong commitment.”