>>A Blog About the Science and Technology of Living Forever

A Swedish study of more than 4,000 obese people treated at 500 health care centers and surgery departments found that those who had weight-loss surgery were less likely to subsequently suffer a heart attack than those treated with routine care such as advice on lifestyle changes. About half the patients had bariatric or weight-loss surgeries, most often stomach stapling. “Compared with usual care, bariatric surgery was associated with reduced number of cardiovascular deaths and lower incidence of cardiovascular events in obese adults,” wrote lead researcher Lars Sjostrom at the University of Gothenburg. The patents were followed for more than a decade, on average. Among the findings, researchers found that following surgery, patients were 30 percent less likely to have a first-time heart attack or stroke than non-surgery patients. And they were half as likely to die from it. You can read more about this study by clicking...