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Can bariatric surgery improve heart function, thereby lowering obesity-associated risks for heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and cardiovascular death? In this prospective study from Utah, cardiovascular outcomes in 423 severely obese patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery were compared with those in 733 severely obese patients who did not.
At 2-year follow-up, gastric bypass patients had lost an average of 44 kg, versus 3 kg in the reference group. Gastric bypass surgery was associated with improved blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol panels and with reductions in left ventricular (LV) mass index (a measure of LV hypertrophy) and right ventricular size on echocardiography. The proportion of gastric bypass patients who met c…