PURPOSE The evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients undergoing vascular surgery can provide information with respect to perioperative and long-term risk for CAD-related events. However, the extent to which the required surgical procedure itself imparts additional risk beyond that dictated by the presence of CAD determinants remains in question. The purpose of this study was to q...

OBJECTIVES Identification of patient subpopulations susceptible to develop myocardial infarction (MI) or, conversely, those displaying either intrinsic cardioprotective phenotypes or highly responsive to protective interventions remain high-priority knowledge gaps. We sought to identify novel common genetic variants associated with perioperative MI in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE As evidence accumulates that carotid artery stenting (CAS) is a durable and effective procedure for stroke prevention, the utility of the procedure hinges on the perioperative risk. The perioperative risk of CAS procedures has historically been higher than carotid endarterectomy in most clinical trials. The perioperative risk of the series presented here is lower than any...

Recognition of myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery is difficult, since strong analgesics (e.g. opioids) can mask anginal symptoms, and ECG abnormalities are subtle or transient. Thorough knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms is therefore essential. These mechanisms can be subdivided into four groups: type I myocardial infraction (MI), type II MI, non-ischaemic cardiac pathology...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Previous multicenter carotid endarterectomy (CEA) studies had screening criteria for patient comorbidities and very few blacks. We assessed the hypothesis that CEA results from two urban hospitals would approximate those of the previous multicenter trials. METHODS A retrospective chart review was completed at two urban hospitals for CEA procedures done in 2003 and 2004....

Term Outcome in Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis To the Editor: We would like to congratulate Monin et al1 for their important multicenter study concerning risk stratification for valve replacement in low-gradient aortic stenosis using dobutamine echocardiography. It is possible that the lack of correlation in their study between the presence of previous myocardial infarction (MI) and perioperative...

Patients with recent myocardial infarction (MI), congestive heart failure, severe angina, or uncorrected multivessel coronary artery disease are at increased risk of cardiac complications after urgent major non-cardiac surgery. Although invasive haemodynamic monitoring and preoperative optimization of cardiac status may lead to some reduction in the rate of perioperative cardiac events, the mor...

While cardiovascular complications remain a leading cause of perioperative morbidity and mortality, studies have shown that prophylactic beta-blocker therapy can reduce the incidence of ischemia, myocardial infarction (MI), and cardiac death. Consensus guidelines and the publication of a recent meta-analysis support the use of perioperative beta-blockade in patients who are at risk for adverse ...

BACKGROUND Several studies have evaluated the impact on myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and overall mortality of perioperative beta-blocker use in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery (NCS). However, most studies did not have adequate sample size and statistical power and were therefore underpowered to adequately evaluate these endpoints. OBJECTIVE To conduct a meta-analysis to determin...