Assessment of cardiovascular perioperative risk in non-cardiac surgery

Patients with cardiovascular disease undergoing non cardiac surgery are exposed to three cardiac risks: myocardial infarction, heart failure and death. To estimate cardiac risk, clinical predictors of perioperative cardiovascular risk are classified as major, intermediate and minor and non cardiac surgery is stratified in high risk (greater than 5%), intermediate (from 1 to 5%), minor (lower than 1%) procedures. Efficient perioperative assessment of cardiac patients is obtained by teamwork and usually, indications for further cardiac investigations are the same as those in the nonoperative setting. An simplified algorithm, easier to use than original algorithm given in the guidelines of the American college of cardiology and the American heart association, may be helpful for the indication of further investigations. Five questions must be answered before using algorithm: is it an emergency surgical procedure?, was a coronary revascularization required in the past five years? has the patient had a coronary evaluation in the past two years?, are there identified clinical predictors of cardiac risk?, is it major or minor surgery? Three tests evaluate the preoperative cardiac risk: exercise testing, dipyridamole thallium scintigraphy, dobutamine stress echocardiography. Their accuracy is similar, their negative predictive value is high, their positive predictive value is low. These guidelines may be helpful to indicate further cardiac investigations which will have an impact on patient's treatment, monitoring during or after surgery and outcome.