title: Preoperative exercise echocardiography and perioperative cardiovascular outcomes in elderly patients undergoing cancer surgery.
abstract: Limited information is available on the value of exercise echocardiography (EE) for identifying operative risk in elderly patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. The authors investigated the outcome in 221 consecutive patients 75 years and older who had EE before intermediate- or high-risk cancer surgery. Baseline clinical data, postoperative adverse cardiovascular events (PACE), and 30-day mortality were collected from the medical records and the Social Security Death Index. The mean age +/- SD of the group was 78.9+/-3.5 years; 57% were men. Significant cardiovascular abnormalities (by echocardiography) were present in 71.5%. Mean metabolic equivalents +/- SD achieved during exercise was 4.9+/-1.9. EE identified 50 (22.6%) patients with ischemia and/or infarction. Perioperative beta-blockers were used in 80% of patients with coronary artery disease vs 48.5% without coronary artery disease (P<.0001). There were 31 PACE in 26 (11.8%) patients. Atrial fibrillation was the most common PACE, seen in 18 (8.1%) patients, followed by congestive heart failure in 8 (3.6%), acute coronary syndrome in 2 (0.9%), and cardiac arrest in 1 (0.5%). Thirty-day mortality was only 0.9%. Hospital lengths of stay for patients with and without PACE were 16.8+/-14.9 and 8.5+/-4.8 days (P< or =.0001), respectively. An abnormal EE predicted PACE (22% vs 8.8%; P< .025). Perioperative beta-blockers reduced the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation (4.9% vs 12.2%; P=.052). In conclusion, EE is feasible in very elderly patients. There is a high prevalence of cardiac abnormalities in the elderly. An abnormal EE predicts PACE, which, in turn, is associated with increased length of stay.
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA. steingar@mskcc.org
authors.forename: Abu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shoyeb
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weinstein
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roistacher
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Spaltro
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: Galina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yusim
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Steingart
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D025401:Echocardiography, Stress; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012107:Research Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013318:Stroke Volume; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome