Obese patients less likely to die after heart operations

Now, you don't have to lose weight before a heart operation, as a study reveals that healthy weight patients were almost twice as likely to die in hospital as compared to the obese or overweight.

Researchers from the University of Leicester found 25 percent reduction in death for overweight instead of healthy weight patients, contradicting weight loss advice.

The results of the British Heart Foundation (BHF)-funded research suggest it is wrong to deny people surgery because they are overweight and that underweight patients can benefit from gaining weight prior to a heart operation, reports the Mirror.

The findings indicate that 4.4 percent people of a normal weight died as compared to just 2.8 percent who were overweight and 2.7 percent who were obese.

However, 8.5 percent people who were underweight died.

"Obesity is a reason often given for not offering patients surgery," said the study's author Gavin Murphy.

"With this study, we show that, for cardiac patients at least, being obese should not be a reason to turn patients away from surgery," Murphy added.

The study, published in the journal Circulation, included 401,227 adults who had undergone heart surgery between 2002 and 2013 and analysed data for the number of people who died in hospital following heart surgery, according to their weight.

They took into account factors that could influence the results such as people's age or whether they had other health conditions.

Overall, 11,511 patients died.

The results showed that healthy people were almost twice as likely to die as compared to the obese or overweight, while those who were underweight had the highest risk of death.

The study found that being fat -- including suffering complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes and artery disease -- which seemed to offer protection.

The researchers also reviewed data from 5,57,720 further patients across Europe, the United States and Asia and found similar results.

The research was funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

"These results also raise questions as to whether there may be attributes of obesity that directly protect patients," Murphy concluded.