Stomach Surgery Halves Heart Attack Risk in Obese

Gastric bypass surgery may halve the risk of heart attack in obese people, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia, University of Manchester and University of Aberdeen looked at data from 14 studies involving more than 29,000 patients who underwent bariatric surgery. Researchers said participants were on average 48 years old, and that 30 percent of them were male. The studies were conducted in North America, Europe and Australia, and participants were tracked from two to 14 years.

The findings revealed gastric bypass surgery significantly reduced the risk of death and heart attacks. Researchers said that death rates were cut by 40 percent, and heart attacks were reduced by 50 percent compared to obese people who did not have the surgery.

"Obesity is a worldwide problem with significant consequences on individuals and society. It is associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, many cancers, and a shorter life expectancy," senior author Dr. Yoon Loke from University of East Anglia's Norwich Medical School said in a news release.

"The latest government figures from 2011 show that obesity affects about one in four people in the UK and this figure is growing. During 2011-12, the NHS reported 11,736 hospital admissions due to obesity, which represents an 11-fold increase compared to the 1019 admissions in 2001-02," he added

"We looked at the outcomes for patients who undergo bariatric surgery, and compared them to figures for obese people who had not received surgery. We saw that surgery was potentially life saving and could lower the risk of having a heart attack and stroke by almost 50 percent," Loke said.

"These findings suggest that surgery should be seriously considered in obese patients who have a high risk of heart disease. This is the right time for a large, high-quality trial of bariatric surgery in the NHS to confirm the potential benefits," he concluded.

The findings are published in the International Journal of Cardiology.