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(Circulation. 2008;118:2091-2102.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Contemporary Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine

Effects of Bariatric Surgery on Cardiovascular Function

Hutan Ashrafian, MBBS, MRCS; Carel W. le Roux, MBChB, MSc, PhD, MRCP, MRCPath; Ara Darzi, KBE, FRCS, KBE, FMedSci; Thanos Athanasiou, MD, PhD, FETCS

From the Departments of Biosurgery and Surgical Technology (H.A., A.D., T.A.) and Investigative Medicine (H.A., C.W.l.R.), Imperial College London, London, UK.

Correspondence to Hutan Ashrafian, MBBS, MRCS, Department of Biosurgery and Surgical Technology, 10th Floor, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Building, Imperial College London at St Mary’s Hospital Campus, Praed St, London, W2 1NY, UK. E-mail h.ashrafian@imperial.ac.uk

Key Words: atherosclerosis • bariatric surgery • heart failure • obesity • surgery

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	Introduction

 
Epidemiological evidence suggests that obesity has become a global pandemic with significant implications to public health. First, it affects virtually all ages and socioeconomic groups; second, it has become a major contributor to the international burden of chronic illness, including diseases of the cardiovascular system. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1.6 billion adults globally were overweight (body mass index [BMI] >25 kg/m²) and at least 400 million were obese (BMI >30 kg/m²) in 2005. Statistical projections indicate that these figures will continue to rise, so that by 2015 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and >700 million will be obese.¹

Traditional treatments to achieve weight loss such as diet, lifestyle, and behavioral therapy have proven relatively ineffective in treating obesity and associated cardiovascular risk factors in the long term, especially when used in isolation, but have demonstrated some metabolic and cardiovascular benefits when they are used together as combination strategies.² It is important to note that these treatments have been specifically ineffective on the morbidly obese subgroup of patients (BMI >40 kg/m²) and have led to development of operations in the form of "bariatric surgery" to treat obesity and its comorbidities. Surgery for the treatment of morbid obesity can be offered according to guidelines established by the National Institutes of Health (United States) and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (United Kingdom). Herein, we explore the potential role of bariatric surgery in the treatment and prevention of obesity-related cardiac disease, examining the associations and . . . [Full Text of this Article]