Mar 28, 2014 05:44 PM EDT By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Weight-loss surgery may dramatically reduce the rate of heart attacks and deaths among people who are obese, according to a recent study HealthDay reported.

Researchers in the United Kingdom found that gastric surgery reduced death rates d by 40 percent and heart attacks by 50 percent in those who had the surgery compared to obese people who did not have surgery, according to a press release.

The study is the first comprehensive review of the impact of surgery on heart disease, stroke disease and death, researchers said.

"We looked at the outcomes for patients who undergo bariatric surgery, and compared them to figures for obese people who had not received surgery," study senior author Dr. Yoon Loke from the University of East Anglia's Norwich Medical School said in a statement. "We saw that surgery was potentially life-saving and could lower the risk of having a heart attack and stroke by almost 50 per cent."

For the study, researchers examined 14 previous studies involving more than 29,000 patients who had weight-loss surgery. The mean age of the study participants was 48, and 30 percent of them were male.

The participants in the studies were followed for a period of two or 14 years, HealthDay reported.

"Obesity is a worldwide problem with significant consequences on individuals and society. It is associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, many cancers, and a shorter life expectancy," Loke said.

Loke said the findings suggest that surgery should be seriously considered in obese patients who have a high risk of heart disease.

Researchers said that obesity affects about one in four people in the United Kingdom and the figure is growing.

"This is the right time for a large, high-quality trial of bariatric surgery in the NHS to confirm the potential benefits," Loke said.

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