Bariatric surgery as a treatment for heart failure: review of the literature and potential mechanisms

Heart failure due to severe obesity is a complex disease due to multiple mechanisms, including increased body mass, inflammation, and impaired cardiac metabolism that is complicated by obesity-associated co-morbidities, such as type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea. Bariatric surgery significantly improves cardiac geometry, function, and symptoms related to obesity cardiomyopathy. There is a consistently positive impact of bariatric surgery on diastolic function with the potential to significantly improve systolic function as measured by ejection fraction in patients with advanced heart failure. For end-stage heart failure patients, including those requiring mechanical circulatory support who are ineligible for organ transplant due to morbid obesity, bariatric surgery has been successfully used for weight loss as a bridge to cardiac transplantation.