Heart failure patients who undergo weight-loss surgery have a much lower risk of dangerous and sudden worsening of symptoms in the two years following the procedure, new research shows.
The study, led by Massachusetts General Hospital, has found bariatric surgery patients had a significant reduction in the incidence of what’s called “heart failure exacerbation.”
"We found that bariatric surgery — the most effective way to achieve substantial and sustained weight loss — was associated with a 40 percent reduction in emergency department visits and hospitalizations for heart failure exacerbation," said lead researcher Dr. Yuichi Shimada, of the MGH Cardiology Division.
"These findings are important because, while both obesity and heart failure are major public health problems in the U.S., little has been known about whether substantial weight loss would decrease the risk of heart-failure-related adverse events."
The findings, published in the March Journal of the American College of Cardiology, are based on an analysis of hospital records of 1,664 heart failure patients who underwent bariatric surgery in California, Florida, and Nebraska from 2007 through 2009.
The results showed a significant and rapid reduction in the incidence of emergency treatment or hospitalization for heart failure exacerbation in the two years after surgery.
"These results imply that clinicians treating patients with both heart failure and morbid obesity should consider surgical weight reduction to help patients control the risk of heart-failure-related events; but it's also true that some patients have other health problems that make the risks of surgery higher," said Dr. Shimada.
"In those cases, accurate assessment of the risks and benefits of surgery becomes critically important, and this study provides indispensable information for patients and treating physicians. It also will be essential to develop effective nonsurgical options to help such patients achieve substantial and sustained weight loss."
Heart failure — a weakening of the heart muscle that prevents the organ's efficient operation — affects 5.7 million Americans. About 40 percent of those hospitalized for heart failure exacerbation are obese. Exacerbation is caused when fluids accumulate in the lungs and other organs can cause shortness of breath, swollen legs and abdomen, chest pain, and dizziness. Untreated, it can be life threatening.
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