Abstract

Severe obesity is closely associated with an increased risk of comorbidities and alterations in cardiac structure and function. The primary objective of this study was to investigate cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and ventricular remodeling in individuals from an obese population eligible for bariatric surgery. The secondary objective was to evaluate changes in anthropometric, clinical laboratory, and echocardiographic measurements 12 weeks after surgery compared to baseline values. This retrospective observational cohort study involved patients from a single specialized bariatric surgery center. A total of 35 patients were included (mean age 41.5 ± 10.3 years; BMI 43.4 ± 6.6 kg/m2), of whom 34.2% had a family history of coronary artery disease (CAD), 5.7% had a prior history of CAD, 8 had essential hypertension, 11.4% had dyslipidemia, 20% were smokers, and 8.6% were former smokers. Approximately 57% of the patients exhibited concentric left ventricular remodeling, and 14% had grade I diastolic dysfunction. At 12 weeks post-surgery, with an average weight loss of 25 kg and a mean BMI reduction of 8.5 kg/m2, 14% of the patients still exhibited concentric left ventricular remodeling, and about 11% had grade I diastolic dysfunction. Bariatric surgery contributes to the improvement of cardiac function and structure over time as a result of significant weight loss.