Preoperative clinical evaluation as a predictor of cardiac complications after infrarenal aortic reconstruction.

This paper analyses cardiac risk factors in 93 consecutive patients undergoing elective infrarenal aortic reconstruction over a 2 year period. During the perioperative or postoperative period, 26 patients sustained a total of 42 cardiac complications. Eight patients had myocardial infarction, 14 left ventricular failure and 15 arrhythmias. There were five cardiac-related deaths. Angina was the only statistically significant risk factor in predicting postoperative cardiac problems. A multivariate analysis identified a high-risk group of patients in whom cardiac complications after operation were common.