November 15, 2017 | Category: Bariatric Surgery, Blog, Excercise, High Blood Pressure

Weight and High Blood Pressure

They’re a common pair. Obese patients are at an increased risk for developing many medical problems, including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, stroke, sleep apnea, gallbladder disease, hyperuricemia and gout, osteoarthritis, and of course, high bloody pressure.

High Blood pressure puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of in the United States. At Western Bariatric Institute, we believe in putting our patient’s minds at ease. To combat comorbidity (such as high blood pressure), bariatric surgery is the answer.

Blood pressure could successfully be controlled with bariatric surgery, eliminating the need for medication in patients with obesity, according to the results of a recent study. (Read More, here.)

Although recent research has investigated the effects of bariatric surgery on metabolic and diabetes resolution, little data is available on its effects on hypertension.

As with any medical procedure, it is to be expected that questions and concerns may arise about what to expect before, during and after surgery.  We assure you that there will be plenty of time to ask questions if and when you decide that weight loss surgery is the right choice for you, but in the meantime, we have compiled a few of the most commonly asked questions that we believe are the most helpful in your path to making your decision.

High Blood Pressure in the United States

  • About 75 million American adults (32%) have high blood pressure—that’s 1 in every 3 adults.
  • About 1 in 3 American adults has pre-hypertension—blood pressure numbers that are higher than normal—but not yet in the high blood pressure range.
  • Only about half (54%) of people with high blood pressure have their condition under control.
  • High blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of death for more than 410,000 Americans in 2014—that’s more than 1,100 deaths each day.
  • High blood pressure costs the nation $48.6 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications to treat high blood pressure, and missed days of work. –source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

In the aforementioned study, overall, 96% of the patients completed follow-up. Within 30 days, reduction of 30% or more of the total number of anti-hypertensive medications while maintaining controlled blood pressure occurred in 41 of 49 (83.7%) patients in the gastric bypass group and 6 of the 47 (12.8%) patients in the control group.

Within a year, 51% of the gastric bypass group showed remission and required no medication, while no participants in the medical therapy group achieved remission. 

Patients in the gastric bypass group lost, on average, 29% of their body weight, compared with less than 1% in the medical therapy group. After one year, 33% of patients in the bypass group normalized their blood pressure to less than 120 mm Hg, and 69% did so without medication, while 26% of those in the medical therapy group achieved normalized blood pressure with an average of 2.8 medications per patient.

Contact Western Bariatric Institute today and let one of our patient advocates walk you through the bariatric process.