BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm repair are at high risk for perioperative myocardial ischemia. The great difficulty is to reliably evaluate the preoperative risk of postoperative myocardial ischemia. This study aimed at observing the incidence of postoperative myocardial ischemia in patients submitted to abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, its correlation with Goldman’s modified cardiac risk index, with changes in the dipyridamole-thallium test and the risk factors for such population. METHODS: Participated in this retrospective study 65 patients submitted to abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Risk factors, such as smoking, coronary artery disease, systemic hypertension and diabetes mellitus, were evaluated as well as the correlation among preoperative coronary artery disease, Goldman’s modified cardiac index risk and postoperative myocardial ischemia. The correlation between preoperative dipyridamole-thallium test and postoperative cardiac complications was also evaluated. RESULTS: Approximately 80% of patients were smokers, 55% were hypertensive, 8% had diabetes mellitus and 25% of patients presented with coronary artery disease. Among coronary artery disease patients, five patients had preoperative angina with an incidence of 40% of postoperative myocardial ischemia and 6.2% of myocardial infarction. In our study, 14% of Goldman’s modified II and 33% of Goldman’s modified III had postoperative myocardial ischemia. Sixteen patients (24%) were submitted to preoperative dipyridamole- thallium test and 10 patients (62%) presented reperfusion defects. Positive dipyridamole-thallium test predictive value was 20% for postoperative myocardial ischemia with a negative predictive value of 83% and sensitivity of 66%. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of cardiac complications as predicted by Goldman’s modified index was not compatible with the theoretical risk of such index. Patients with preoperative angina had a high percentage (40%) of postoperative ischemia and dypiramidole-thalium test had a low ischemia-predicting value.
COMPLICATIONS; SURGERY
