Obese people (those with a BMI above 35) are at a higher risk for heart attacks. Their risk is elevated for a number of reasons, including their weight status, high calorie diet, a sedentary lifestyle, presence of diabetes, higher blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels.
For those who opt for bariatric surgery, they can also include reduced risk of heart attacks as one more benefit from weight loss surgery. According to a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University, gastric bypass patients had a reduction in their cardiac risk factors after bariatric surgery. This improvement continued to be seen between three and seven years after their gastric bypass surgery, promoting researchers’ conclusions that the beneficial effects of bariatric surgery were enduring.
Bariatric surgery, including gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, and lap band surgery, works by reducing dietary intake, and in the case of gastric bypass it also reduces absorption. By reducing the size of their stomach, bariatric patients eat less which results in weight loss. Bariatric surgery also forces patients to change their diets, with the new focus being on nutritionally dense foods high in protein, healthy fats, fresh fruits and vegetables, and low in refined sugar. In order to maximize weight loss, exercise is also encouraged after patients have been cleared by their surgeons following gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, and lap band surgery. The reduction in calories, change in diet quality, and incorporation of exercise into their lifestyle all contribute to improvements in cardiac risk factors such as obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
If you have obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, you may be at high risk for heart disease and heart attack. Call Dr. Shillingford, MD, PA at (561) 483-8840 to see if you qualify for gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, or lap band surgery. Dr. Shillingford performs hundreds of bariatric procedures each year, including gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, lap band, and revisional surgery. His weight loss surgery patients come from all over Florida, including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville, for his renowned surgical skills and comfortable bedside manner. Don’t wait until it’s too late, call Dr. Shillingford today.
