Introduction Preoperative cardiovascular risk assessment attempts to prospectively identify at-risk patients, allowing targeted perioperative management so that event rates can be reduced. Perioperative cardiac events include both “demand” events, in…
Introduction The preoperative assessment of a patient in need of elective noncardiac surgery is often a difficult task. There has been enormous controversy regarding the appropriate strategy for diagnosing and…
Introduction Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has revolutionized the management of coronary artery disease (CAD), initially with balloon angioplasty (BA) and subsequently with coronary stenting both with bare-metal stents (BMSs) and…
Introduction Cigarette smoking is the most important avoidable cause of mortality in the United States. The long-term effects of cigarette smoking in causing cardiac disease, vascular disease, pulmonary disease, and…
Introduction Hypertension affects about 1 billion people and is a leading cause of death worldwide. This global prevalence is likely to increase further as the population ages. The relationship between…
Introduction Prevalence and Epidemiology Cocaine abuse and addiction continue to be a problem that plagues the United States and many other countries. Data from the U.S. Drug Abuse Warning Network…
Introduction Perioperative stroke is a potentially devastating complication of surgery that has an incidence that varies widely with the surgical procedure. A perioperative stroke can occur intraoperatively or in the…
Introduction Surgery on a pregnant woman raises several concerns. These include the effect of surgery and anesthesia on the developing fetus and the potential to trigger preterm labor. The hazards…
Introduction The resting 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is the one of the most widely used diagnostic tests in medicine, and preoperative ECG is the most commonly obtained cardiovascular diagnostic test before…
Introduction Each year, between $11 and $30 million are spent on preoperative testing; this includes the cost of laboratory tests and related consultations. For an anesthesiologist, the preoperative evaluation is…
