Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Left Ventricular Structure and Function

Obesity leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease morbidity and death, including heart failure. Bariatric surgery has been proven to be the most effective long-term weight management treatment. This study investigated the changes in cardiac structure and function after bariatric surgery, including left ventricular global longitudinal strain.

There were 398 consecutive patients who underwent bariatric surgery with pre- and postoperative transthoracic echocardiographic imaging at a US health system between 2004 and 2019. We compared cardiovascular risk factors and echocardiographic parameters between baseline and follow-up at least 6 months postoperatively. Along with decreases in weight postoperatively, there were significant improvements in cardiovascular risk factors, including reduction in systolic blood pressure levels from 132 mm Hg (25th-75th percentile: 120-148 mm Hg) to 127 mm Hg (115-140 mm Hg; P=0.003), glycated hemoglobin levels from 6.5% (5.9%-7.6%) to 5.7% (5.4%-6.3%; P<0.001), and low-density lipoprotein levels from 97 mg/dL (74-121 mg/dL) to 86 mg/dL (63-106 mg/dL; P<0.001). Left ventricular mass decreased from 205 g (165-261 g) to 190 g (151-236 g; P<0.001), left ventricular ejection fraction increased from 58% (55%-61%) to 60% (55%-64%; P<0.001), and left ventricular global longitudinal strain improved from -15.7% (-14.3% to -17.5%) to -18.6% (-16.0% to -20.3%; P<0.001) postoperatively.

This study has shown the long-term impact of bariatric surgery on cardiac structure and function, with reductions in left ventricular mass and improvement in left ventricular global longitudinal strain. These findings support the cardiovascular benefits of bariatric surgery.