Bariatric Surgery Is Associated with a Significant Reduction in 10-Year Cardiovascular Risk

Introduction: Bariatric surgery is the only evidence-based method of long-term weight control in obese individuals. The reduction in individual cardiovascular risk following bariatric surgery has not yet been quantified. QRISK2 is a United Kingdom-designed algorithm that predicts 10-year cardiovascular risk. In this study, we calculated the QRISK2 scores for patients before and after bariatric surgery in an effort to assess cardiovascular risk reduction following bariatric surgery objectively. Materials and Methods: We reviewed all patients who had undergone bariatric surgery over a 10-year period (June 2003-June 2013) at our institute. QRISK2 score was calculated pre- and postoperatively for all patients. The postoperative score was calculated at the point of longest available follow-up. Results: A total of 250 patients were included, with a median age of 36 years (interquartile range 29-44). Median follow-up postoperatively for all patients was 24 months (interquartile range 6-36). A hundred patients underwent sleeve gastrectomy, 67 (26.8%) patients had biliopancreatic diversion (BPD), 50 (20%) patients had a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYG), and 33 (13.2%) were fitted with gastric bands. The median preoperative QRISK2 score was 5.6%; the median postoperative QRISK2 score was lower at 4.4% (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study is the first to use a validated scoring system to assess 10-year cardiovascular risk reduction in bariatric patients. We have demonstrated a significant reduction in cardiovascular risk following bariatric surgery.