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(HealthDay News) – In addition to weight loss, over the long term, gastric bypass surgery improves biochemical cardiac risk factors, including an 80% drop in C-reactive protein.
Nayna Lodhia, from Stanford University in California, and colleagues analyzed changes to 11 cardiac risk factors in 182 patients (mean body mass index, 47kg/m²; average weight, 286 pounds) who underwent gastric bypass surgery. Statins were discontinued after surgery.
By seven years after surgery, the researchers found that the average body mass index was reduced to 34kg/m² and the average weight fell to 205 pounds. Patients had improvements in all risk factors, including a 40% increase in high-density lipoproteins, a 66% decrease in fasting insulin levels, a 55% reduction in triglycerides, and an 80% decrease in C-reactive protein.
“An 80% reduction in the C-reactive protein level is an astounding drop,” a coauthor said in a statement. “This is significantly better than what the best medical therapy has been shown to achieve and underscores the inflammatory nature of obesity, which can be reversed with surgical weight loss.”
Abstract No. PL-114
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