Perioperative management of a patient with morbid obesity and severe cardiomyopathy: a case report and literature review

Abstract

As the obesity epidemic continues to escalate, the need for bariatric surgery will increase. Patients with severe cardiomyopathy and heart failure have historically been considered at high risk for perioperative complications and thus excluded from bariatric surgery. We herein describe a patient with morbid obesity, severe cardiomyopathy, and heart failure who successfully and safely underwent bariatric surgery and achieved significant weight loss and overall cardiac function improvement 1 year later. Although data are sparse, there is certainly evidence to suggest that significant weight reduction may confer a mechanism of ventricular reverse remodeling and subsequent clinical improvement.