title: Validation of an updated approach to preoperative cardiac risk assessment in vascular surgery.
abstract: To validate a more selective approach to cardiac assessment which consisted of limiting stress testing and coronary revascularization to highly selected patients and limiting coronary revascularization to patients with severe cardiac symptoms, we compared two time periods (1994-1995 and 2000-2001) with respect to cardiac work-up and cardiac morbidity and mortality. Our method involved a retrospective review of patients undergoing vascular procedures from 2000 to 2001 at a single institution. In group 1 (2000-2001), 139 operations were performed on 120 patients. In group 2 (1994-1995), 145 procedures were performed on 109 patients. Preoperative stress testing was reduced from 42 patients (29%) in group 2 to 20 patients (14%) in group 1 (P < 0.01), and preoperative coronary artery bypass grafting was reduced from six (4.1%) to two (1.4%) (P < 0.28), respectively. Coronary angiography was unchanged: 8 (5.8%) patients in group 1 versus 11 (7.9%) patients in group 2 (P = NS). Two (1.4%) patients underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in group 1 and group 2. Cardiac event rates were similar: seven (5%) patients in both groups. Cardiac death was not significantly different: two (1.4%) in group 1 versus one (0.7%) in group 2. Cardiac morbidity and mortality after major vascular surgery remain the same despite using a more selective cardiac stress protocol.
authors: Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California 90509, USA.
authors: Hao
authors: H
authors: Bui
authors: Jason T
authors: JT
authors: Lee
authors: Scott
authors: S
authors: Greenway
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Donayre
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: de Virgilio
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000401:mortality; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D004176:Dipyridamole; D004280:Dobutamine; D025401:Echocardiography, Stress; D005260:Female; D006334:Heart Function Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures
chemical_list: D004280:Dobutamine; D004176:Dipyridamole