Heart block in patients after bariatric surgery accompanying sleep apnea

Backround: Heart block and bradycardia during sleep has been reported in pa tients with obesity. The occurrence of bradyarrythmias in patients after un dergoing bariatric surgery has not been reported. Methods: Over a period of 6 months, 3 patients who underwent laparoscopic w eight reduction surgery developed prolonged heart block during sleep. Clini cal course and follow-up are presented. Results: All 3 patients were diagnosed with sleep apnea. For 2 of these pat ients this was a new diagnosis. The episodes of heart block coincided with their episodes of sleep apnea. During follow-up of at least 6 months, no pa tient has had any adverse consequences related to their nocturnal heart blo ck. Conclusion: Heart block during sleep is sometimes seen in patients undergoi ng bariatric surgery. The cause is sleep apnea, which often is worsened in the postoperative state due to narcotic analgesics. These patients require treatment of their sleep apnea, not pacemakers.