A Retrospective Chart Review of Patients Who Underwent Cardiac Evaluation Before Bariatric Surgery

BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity are considered to be a global pandemic. Its associations with hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia are important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. METHODS: This was a retrospective, observational chart review of obese patients who were seen in our outpatient clinic for cardiovascular clearance prior to an intended bariatric surgery between 2004 and 2020. Data from patient’s demographics, risk factors, presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and other cardiovascular diseases were collected from medical charts. They underwent clinical evaluation, non-invasive workup including electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, treadmill exercise tests and some of them myocardial perfusion studies and coronary angiograms when indicated, based on their symptoms and/or risk factors for CAD. RESULTS: From 761 patients studied, 7.6% (58 patients) underwent coronary angiograms, based on their non-invasive workup and their history. Among them, we found that 17 patients had significant CAD. It should be mentioned that this is a selected group of patients with the intention to undergo a bariatric surgical procedure, which this makes them somewhat different from the general population, and this could be considered among the limitations of our study. CONCLUSIONS: Data from our selected population chart review showed that in this specific population, there was no high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, specifically coronary atherosclerosis, dilated cardiomyopathy, left ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, venous thrombosis and obstructive sleep apnea.