Does Sleeve gastrectomy have long-term impact on arrhythmia incidence?

A new study by Marco Vecchiato and team showed that although the likelihood of exercise-induced arrhythmias may be increased in the early post-surgical period, Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) does not have a long-term impact on arrhythmia incidence. The findings of this study were published in the International Journal of Obesity.

The risk of cardiac arrhythmias is increased in those who are obese. A typical bariatric procedure with favorable results for comorbidities and weight reduction is the sleeve gastrectomy. In order to determine the prevalence of arrhythmias during maximum activity testing in individuals with moderate-severe obesity and to assess the effect of SG on these arrhythmic occurrences, this study was done.

Between June 2015 and September 2020, all patients with moderate or severe obesity who were deemed qualified for SG were enrolled. Each patient underwent three incremental, maximal, ECG-monitored cardiopulmonary exercise tests 1 month prior to, 6 months after, and 12 months after SG. During the rest, exercise, and recovery phases, the frequency and complexity of ventricular premature beats (VPBs) and atrial premature beats (APBs) were assessed.

The key findings of this study were:

1. The study comprised 50 individuals with a BMI of 46.39 ± 7.89 kg/m2 or higher who had extreme obesity.

2. Patients showed a lower BMI following SG (34.15 ± 6.25 kg/m2 at 6 months and 31.87 ± 5.99 kg/m2 at 12 months).

3. An increase in VPBs, mostly during the recovery period, was seen at 6 months after SG.

4. A decrease in VPBs was seen at 12 months post-SG compared to the 6-month assessment.

Reference:

Vecchiato, M., Quinto, G., Neunhaeuserer, D., Battista, F., Bettini, S., Gasperetti, A., Vettor, R., Busetto, L., & Ermolao, A. (2023). The incidence of cardiac arrhythmias during exercise stress testing: a focus on patients with severe obesity undergoing sleeve gastrectomy. In International Journal of Obesity. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-022-01252-7