Perioperative pharmacotherapy to prevent cardiac complications in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery

• Published in: Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy Vol. 22; no. 6; p. 755
• Main Authors: Bhatia, Kirtipal, Narasimhan, Bharat, Aggarwal, Gaurav, Hajra, Adrija, Itagi, Soumya, Kumar, Shathish, Chakraborty, Sandipan, Patel, Neelkumar, Jain, Vardhmaan, Bandyopadhyay, Dhrubajyoti, Amgai, Birendra, Aronow, Wilbert S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 13.04.2021
• Subjects: Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control; Heart Diseases - etiology; Heart Diseases - prevention & control; Humans; Myocardial Ischemia; Perioperative Care; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Postoperative Complications - etiology; Postoperative Complications - prevention & control; cardioprotective medications; Noncardiac surgery; statin; angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs); perioperative medicine; anticoagulation; beta-blockers; cardiac complications; antiplatelet therapy
• ISSN: 1744-7666
• DOI: 10.1080/14656566.2020.1856368

: Despite advances in surgical and anesthetic techniques, perioperative cardiovascular complications are a major cause of 30-day perioperative mortality. Major cardiovascular complications after noncardiac surgery include myocardial ischemia, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, and cardiac arrest. Along with surgical risk assessment, perioperative medical optimization can reduce the rates and clinical impact of these complications. : In this review, the authors discuss the pharmacological basis, existing evidence, and professional society recommendations for drug management in preventing cardiovascular complications in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. : Perioperative management of cardiovascular disease is an increasingly important and growing area of clinical practice. Societal guidelines regarding the use of most routine cardiovascular medications are based on a number of large clinical studies and provide a basic foundation to guide management. However, the heterogeneous nature of patients, as well as surgeries, makes it practically impossible to devise a 'one size fits all' recommendation in this setting. Thus, the importance of a more individualized approach to perioperative risk stratification and management is being increasingly recognized. The underlying comorbidities and cardiac profile as well as the risk of cardiac complications associated with the planned surgery must be factored in to understand the nuance of the management strategies.