Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 8, 2025
Author Spotlight: Investigating the Underlying Mechanisms of Right Ventricular Failure in Pulmonary Hypertension
Published on: June 14, 2024
Impact of ponderal loss after bariatric surgery on the cardiac structure and function
María Elena Arjonilla Sampedro1, Fátima Illán Gómez1, Manuel Gonzálvez Ortega2
1Servicio de Endocrinología y Nutrición, Hospital General Universitario Morales Meseguer, Murcia, España.
Insights
Obesity causes heart problems, but bariatric surgery can reverse these cardiac changes. Weight loss through surgery significantly improves heart structure and function in obese patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Bariatric Surgery
- Obesity Medicine
Background:
- Excess weight is linked to structural and functional cardiac disorders.
- Left ventricular hypertrophy in obese patients predicts cardiovascular events.
- Obesity negatively impacts cardiac geometry and function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of cardiac morphofunctional disorders in obese patients.
- To assess changes in cardiac structure and function before and after bariatric surgery.
- To evaluate the impact of weight loss on obesity-related cardiovascular risk factors.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study of 75 obese patients undergoing gastric bypass.
- Measurements included anthropometric, analytical, and echocardiographic parameters.
- Data collected before, and 6 and 12 months after bariatric surgery.
Main Results:
- Bariatric surgery led to significant weight loss and improved metabolic/inflammatory markers.
- Pre-surgery, 62.7% had cardiac remodeling and 50.7% had diastolic dysfunction.
- One year post-surgery, 92% had normal ventricular patterns and improved diastolic function.
Conclusions:
- Obesity adversely affects cardiac geometry and function.
- Significant weight loss following bariatric surgery can reverse cardiac alterations.
- Bariatric surgery offers a potential therapeutic strategy for obesity-related heart disease.
Introduction And Objective:
Excess weight can cause structural and functional cardiac disorders. The presence of left ventricular hypertrophy in the obese patient is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The major aim of the present study is to know the prevalence of cardiac morphofunctional disorders in obese patients, before and after weight loss due to bariatric surgery (BS).
Patients And Methods:
Prospective cohort study of 75 patients with obesity without known heart disease referred to gastric bypass. Anthropometric, analytical and echocardiographic parameters were measured before and after 6 and 12 months after BS.
Results:
The study included 75 patients (66.6% women, mean age 39.3 [9.7] years and BMI 47.8 [7.1] kg/m2). At 6 and 12 months after BS there was a significant reduction in body weight and an improvement in metabolic, inflammatory and prothrombotic parameters and in cardiovascular risk factors associated with obesity (hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia and obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome). Before surgery, cardiac remodeling was present in 62.7%, most frequently in the form of concentric remodeling (38.7%). Diastolic dysfunction occurred in 50.7% of the patients. One year after surgery, the ventricular pattern was normal in 92% of cases and the diastolic function improved significantly.
Conclusions:
Our results support the negative effect of obesity on cardiac geometry and function and the potential reversibility of these cardiac alterations after marked weight loss due to BS.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Cardiomyopathy VII: Pre and Post Operative Nursing Management
01:26Imbalances in Cardiac Output
CHF can occur due to the failure of either side of the heart. Left-side failure leads to pulmonary congestion—the right side continues to send...
01:22Mitral Valve Prolapse II: Assessment and Management
01:29Pathophysiology of Cardiac Performance
01:27Mitral Valve Prolapse I: Introduction
01:27Mitral Stenosis IV: Nursing Management