Results of a new 40,000-patient Swedish observational study provide the strongest evidence to date suggesting a causal relationship between bariatric surgery and reduced risk of heart failure, according to Johan Sundström, MD. The study, which included patients drawn from 2 large Swedish national registries, demonstrated that bariatric surgery was associated with a 46% reduction in the incidence of heart failure during a median 4.1 years of follow-up, compared with an intensive lifestyle modification program for weight loss.
“A great way of studying causality is to take away the exposure and note what happens to the outcome. If there’s a causal link, then if you take away the risk factor—in this case, obesity—the disease should go away,” Dr. Sundström explained. Further details and a video interview are available at Cardiology News: http://www.mdedge.com/ecardiologynews/article/118204/heart-failure/video-bariatric-surgery-may-protect-against-heart?channel=224.