Effects of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy on Vascular and Myocardial Recovery: Type 2 Diabetes and Echocardiographic Indices of Diastolic Function

Background and Objectives: Obesity affects both the arterial wall and the myocardium, but after bariatric surgery the two compartments are usually studied in separate cohorts. We measured both in the same patients before and six months after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), and asked whether type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with differences in postoperative cardiac changes. Subjects and Methods: Fifty consecutive adults with severe obesity scheduled for LSG were enrolled prospectively at a single centre. Thirty completed the six-month protocol; 20 were not reassessed during pandemic-related disruption of elective outpatient follow-up. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), ankle-brachial index (ABI), aortic propagation velocity (APV) and transthoracic echocardiography were obtained at both timepoints by the same operator, blinded to diabetes status and laboratory results, on the same equipment. Left atrial volume index and tricuspid regurgitant velocity were not recorded, so diastolic function was assessed using continuous indices (E/A, mean e′, E/e′) rather than formal categorical grading.