gastric bypass and heart disease

[ccstar66]

I am a 41yr old female I have Type II diabetes, hypothyroid, and I have heart disease and heart failure.  I am severely obese and have tried many diets and also exercise.. I have been overweight most of my life.  I need to loose weight for my health.  I need to get heart sugery, but they won't do it based on my weight.  I want to know if I would qualify for the gastric bypass surgery.  I have tried exercising, but due to my heart failure and not having alot of energy that isn't working right now.  

[James G Beckerman, M.D.]

Your low ejection fraction does increase your surgical risk, even in the absence of any significant blockages on your recent angiogram.  I do think that speaking with a surgeon still would be useful in terms of understanding your level of risk better.

[ccstar66]

Well let me refraise this...i had 6 stents put in and just had another angioplasty, but they did not find any blockages.  I do have scarring in the front and back of my left ventricale and have what the doctor said Isechmic Cardiomyopathy.  I want to have the gastric bypass to help loose weight because the doctor told me evetually I will need further heart sugery and possibly will need a heart transplant.  My EF is 25% and tends to stay around that right now.  I am on many medications also like Ticlid, Coreg, Avandamet, Lantus Insulin, Altace, Pletal, Carvedilol, Lipitor, Niapsan ER.

[James G Beckerman, M.D.]

Thanks for your post.  You make a great point that losing weight is good for your health, from diabetes to heart disease to everything in between.  It would be helpful to know what kind of heart surgery is being recommended, because sometimes there are procedures that are less invasive that could be considered, and could result in some improvement in how you feel.

Weight loss surgery can be a great option for some people, but keep in mind that it often does come down to surgical risk.  I think that getting more information is a very good idea, and I'd suggest that you ask your primary care doctor to recommend a surgeon in your area, if only to discuss your operative risk and also to learn more about the various procedures available.  I think this is the next step for you.  If you'd like to post further about your heart condition, I can try to provide more information.  Take care!