Excess weight, especially abdominal obesity, significantly increases the risk for heart disease. It has been well established that obesity is associated with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Each of these risk factors independently increases the likelihood of developing coronary artery disease and the chance of having a heart attack or stroke.

The risk of developing heart failure was twice as high in patients with a BMI of 30 or greater. Excess weight causes an increased strain on the body requiring a greater cardiac workload.

Another well documented complication of obesity is sleep apnea. This disease has significant consequences on the heart and places patients at higher risk for heart failure, high blood pressure and sudden rhythm disturbances.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and AHA have outlined that weight-loss is of paramount importance in the prevention of heart disease,
There have been a multitude of studies that have determined that weight-loss can provide a beneficial effect on a number of cardiovascular risk factors.

It is well established that obese patients are at significantly higher risk for heart disease and will inevitably have a shorter life expectancy than non-obese individuals. Bariatric surgery is known to induce significant weight loss and it has been proven that patients who undergo weight loss surgery have 62%-70% resolution in high blood pressure, 56% coronary artery disease, and 74-98% resolution of sleep apnea.