title: Peripheral vascular surgery: update on the perioperative non-surgical management for high cardiac risk patients.
abstract: This review of the recent literature regarding perioperative management in peripheral vascular surgery emphasizes some of the important features for the 2003 state-of-the-art on non surgical perioperative care for these high cardiac risk patients. The most adapted preoperative cardiac evaluation for each patient is guided by its individual risk factors and clinical history. Perioperative medication should nowadays consist of pre- and postoperative beta-blockers and acetyl salicylic acid, both reducing cardiac morbidity and mortality. Neuraxial locoregional anaesthesia techniques are reasonable alternatives to general anaesthesia because of their potential advantages, by reducing postoperative inflammatory response and reducing procoagulating activity, and increasing peripheral vascular graft patency, but the individual benefit/risk balance has always to be evaluated for patients submitted to aggressive antithrombotic therapy. During the postoperative course, early detection and treatment of postoperative myocardial ischemia or infarction by ST wave changes and/or cardiac enzyme control has to be considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège, B. 35 Sart-Tilman, B-4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stammet
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Senard
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Roediger
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hubert
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Larbuisson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lamy
mesh_terms: D015897:Comorbidity; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011182:Postoperative Care; D012307:Risk Factors; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures