title: Coronary calcium scores 6 years after bariatric surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity is associated with elevated coronary artery calcium (CAC), a marker of coronary atherosclerosis that is strongly predictive of cardiovascular events. We evaluated the effects of marked weight loss achieved through Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (GBS) on CAC scores.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed echocardiography and computed tomography of the heart in 149 subjects 6 years after enrollment in a prospective registry evaluating the cardiovascular effects of GBS. Coronary calcium scores, left ventricular ejection fraction, and left ventricular mass were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, most coronary risk factors were similar between the GBS and nonsurgical groups including current smoking, systolic blood pressure, LDL-C, HDL-C, and TG. However, GBS patients were younger (4.7 years), less likely to be diabetic, and less likely to be postmenopausal. At 6 years after enrollment, CAC score was significantly lower in patients who underwent GBS than those without surgery (p < 0.01). GBS subjects had a lower likelihood of having measureable coronary calcium (odds ratio of CAC > 0 = 0.39; 95 % CI of (0.17, 0.90)). Significant predictors of 0 CAC were GBS, female gender, younger age, baseline BMI, and baseline LDL-C. Substituting change in BMI for group status as a predictor variable showed that BMI change also predicted CAC (p = 0.045). Changes in LDL-C did not predict the CAC differences between groups (p = 0.67).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sustained weight loss achieved through bariatric surgery is associated with less coronary calcification. This effect, which appears to be independent of changes in LDL-C, may contribute to lower cardiac mortality in patients with successful GBS.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Priester
authors.forename: Travis G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Ault
authors.forename: Lance
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gress
authors.forename: Ted D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Steven C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Sheldon E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Litwin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D050110:Bariatric Surgery / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012107:Research Design; D012307:Risk Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium