The role of ambulatory monitoring in assessing cardiac risk in peripheral vascular surgery.
Patients undergoing vascular surgery have a uniformly higher risk for postoperative cardiac events, and this risk has traditionally been difficult to quantify. Research has focused on the addition of noninvasive testing to the preoperative assessment of patients at moderate risk by clinical criteria. Current data suggest that preoperative ambulatory monitoring successfully identifies risk for cardiac events in patients undergoing vascular surgery and represents a practical alternative, particularly when patients cannot exercise. Postoperative monitoring appears to be particularly useful in heralding cardiac events in high-risk patients with enough lead time to make prophylactic and preemptive intervention feasible.
Raby
K E
KE
Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Selwyn
A P
AP
D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery*; D012306:Risk