The Prevalence of Diastolic Dysfunction in Morbidly Obese Patients Undergo Bariatric Surgery

Morbidly obese patients are at risk for both respiratory and cardiovascular abnormalities. Many cardiac problems were previously reported including left ventricular hypertrophy, right and left ventricular systolic dysfunction etc. Diastolic cardiac dysfunction can be found in normal left ventricular systolic function and can lead to diastolic heart failure postoperatively.

Preoperative screening by transthoracic echocardiogram is difficult due to anatomical challenge (thick chest wall, narrowing of inter-rib space), therefore the prevalence of this problem may be underestimated. Transesophageal echocardiogram provides better cardiac view, but requires sedation during procedure. So, it is not practical for out-patient setting. The investigator would like to perform transesophageal echocardiogram in this group of patients after anesthesia induction to demonstrate the true prevalence of this syndrome.