MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Patients who underwent weight-loss surgeries such as gastric banding saw greater improvement in their heart health, according to a U.K. survey of more than 70 bariatric surgery studies which included nearly 20,000 patients.
"The magnitude of effect on risk factors is impressive, and to date no pharmacological therapy for weight management or diabetes has shown a comparable effect over these short time periods," according to the study. "In appropriately selected patients, especially those with a high cardiovascular risk, surgical weight loss could be life- saving."
Of patients involved in the underlying research, more than half saw their cardiovascular risk factors resolved or significantly improved, Bloomberg reported.
The surgical procedures are not without risk, however, and nearly half of the patients who underwent gastric banding, for example, had to have their devices removed due to complications, according to the news source.
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