Private MD News

Gastric bypass leads to sustained improvements in cholesterol

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Gastric bypass surgery may benefit individuals who have received unhealthy cholesterol test results. New research indicates that most patients who undergo these operations make major sustained improvements in several measures of heart health.

For the study, researchers from Stanford University tracked the well-being of a group of 182 patients who underwent a gastric bypass surgery. The team tracked the health of the participants from 2003 through 2011.

The results showed that the majority of participants made significant improvements in total cholesterol, triglyceride and C-reactive protein levels. Additionally, patients showed progress in HbA1c, fasting insulin, blood pressure, homocysteine and metabolic syndrome test scores.

"Patients significantly decreased their risk for having a heart attack within the first year of surgery and maintained that benefit over the long-term," said lead researcher John Morton.

He added that many of the health improvements observed following gastric bypass surgery are much greater than what can be achieved through pharmaceutical treatments alone. This indicates that there may be something unique about the operation that delivers majors benefits to patients.