Cardiovascular Complications of Extreme Obesity in Women

Severe obesity (body mass index ≥35 kg/m²) is occurring at younger ages in US women and is relatively common among women of certain racial/ethnic backgrounds. It is associated with a high incidence of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular outcomes and may represent an increasingly important facet of cardiovascular risk for US women. Bariatric surgery has the strongest literature base for producing substantial and sustained weight loss among the severely obese but carries the risk for potentially severe complications. An emerging literature shows that lifestyle intervention may lead to clinically meaningful weight loss in the severely obese, but that maintenance of such loss may be problematic.