Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T02:18:26.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - The role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in preoperative evaluation of surgical patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2009

Paul Older
Affiliation:
Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Unit Division of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Western Hospital Melbourne VIC 3011Australia
Adrian Hall
Affiliation:
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre East Melbourne VIC 8006 Australia
Jeremy Cashman
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital, London
Michael Grounds
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital, London
Get access

Summary

The situation is, therefore, that the internist believes he can diagnose heart disease in life but can only state in a general way the patient's chance under operation; while the surgeon may deny this ability to discover heart disease while the patient is alive, but confidently makes such a diagnosis if the patient dies.

H. B. Sprague, 1929

If this has a familiar ring then you should read on. Whilst this statement was made in 1929, the modern translation would still represent the feelings of many people today. One group would believe the first part and one group the second part. The true sceptic would of course believe both.

By virtue of the fact that the anaesthesia literature contains numerous articles discussing the best approach for preoperative assessment of major non-cardiac surgery with many urging caution and a rethink of the problem, it is clear that the problem has not yet been solved! For example, some authors strongly recommend perioperative beta-blockade and others are not so sure. A recent systematic review, with meta-analyses, goes further and concludes that there is insufficient evidence to recommend perioperative beta-blockade in any type of surgery for the prevention of death, myocardial infarction or stroke. How can there be such diversity of opinion with no resolution of such a common and serious problem? We believe that the reason for this is that too much attention has been focused on myocardial ischaemia as a risk factor.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Sprague, H.The heart in surgery: analysis of the results in surgery on cardiac patients during the past ten years at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1929; 49: 54–8.Google Scholar
Mangano, DT, London, MJ, Tubau, JF, et al. Dipyridamole thallium-201 scintigraphy as a preoperative screening test. A reexamination of its predictive potential. Study of Perioperative Ischemia Research Group. Circulation 1991; 84: 493–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mantha, S, Roizen, MF, Barnard, J, et al. Relative effectiveness of four preoperative tests for predicting adverse cardiac outcomes after vascular surgery: a meta-analysis. Anesth Analg 1994; 79: 422–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halm, EA, Browner, WS, Tubau, JF, et al. Echocardiography for assessing cardiac risk in patients having noncardiac surgery. Study of Perioperative Ischemia Research Group. Ann Intern Med 1996; 125: 433–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hollenberg, SM.Preoperative cardiac risk assessment. Chest 1999; 115:51S–7S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mangano, DT, Layug, EL, Wallace, A, et al. Effect of atenolol on mortality and cardiovascular morbidity after noncardiac surgery. Multicenter Study of Perioperative Ischemia Research Group. N Engl J Med 1996; 335: 1713–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Poldermans, D, Boersma, E, Bax, JJ, et al. The effect of bisoprolol on perioperative mortality and myocardial infarction in high-risk patients undergoing vascular surgery. Dutch Echocardiographic Cardiac Risk Evaluation Applying Stress Echocardiography Study Group. N Engl J Med 1999; 341: 1789–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
London, MJ, Zaugg, M, Schaub, MC, et al. Perioperative beta-adrenergic receptor blockade: physiologic foundations and clinical controversies. Anesthesiology 2004; 100: 170–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Devereaux, PJ, Beattie, WS, Choi, PT, et al. How strong is the evidence for the use of perioperative beta blockers in non-cardiac surgery? Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ 2005; 331: 313–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yeager, MP, Fillinger, MP, Hettleman, BD, et al. Perioperative beta-blockade and late cardiac outcomes: a complementary hypothesis. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth 2005; 19: 237–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wetterslev, J, Juul, A.Benefits and harms of perioperative beta-blockade. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol 2006; 20: 285–302.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fleisher, LA.Perioperative myocardial ischemia and infarction. Int Anesthesiol Clin 1992; 30: 1–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aitkenhead, AR.Cardiac morbidity after non-cardiac surgery. Lancet 1993; 341: 731–2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kertai, MD, Bax, JJ, Klein, J, et al. Is there any reason to withhold beta blockers from high-risk patients with coronary artery disease during surgery?Anesthesiology 2004; 100: 4–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eagle, KA, Berger, PB, Calkins, H, et al. ACC/AHA guideline update for perioperative cardiovascular evaluation for noncardiac surgery – executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Committee to Update the 1996 Guidelines on Perioperative Cardiovascular Evaluation for Noncardiac Surgery). Circulation 2002; 105: 1257–67.Google Scholar
Older, P, Smith, R, Hall, A, et al. Preoperative cardiopulmonary risk assessment by cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Crit Care Resusc 2000; 2: 198–208.Google ScholarPubMed
Goto, T, Takase, H, Toriyama, T, et al. Circulating concentrations of cardiac proteins indicate the severity of congestive heart failure. Heart 2003; 89: 1303–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ammann, P, Pfisterer, M, Fehr, T, et al. Raised cardiac troponins. BMJ 2004; 328: 1028–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Older, P, Hall, A, Hader, R.Cardiopulmonary exercise testing as a screening test for perioperative management of major surgery in the elderly. Chest 1999; 116: 355–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Older, P, Smith, R, Courtney, P, et al. Preoperative evaluation of cardiac failure and ischemia in elderly patients by cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Chest 1993; 104: 701–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wasserman, K, Hansen, JE, Sue, DY, et al. Principles of Exercise Testing and Interpretation. Second edn. Philadelphia, PA: Lea & Febiger, 1994.Google Scholar
Beaver, WL, Wasserman, K, Whipp, BJ.A new method for detecting anaerobic threshold by gas exchange. J Appl Physiol 1986; 60: 2020–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weber, KT, Janicki, JS.Cardiopulmonary exercise testing for evaluation of chronic cardiac failure. Am J Cardiol 1985; 55: 22A–31A.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Belardinelli, R, Lacalaprice, F, Carle, F, et al. Exercise-induced myocardial ischaemia detected by cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Eur Heart J 2003; 24: 1304–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Older P, Hall A. The role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing for preoperative evaluation of the elderly. In Wasserman, K, ed. Exercise Gas Exchange in Heart Disease. Armonk, NY: Futura Publishing Company, 1996; pp. 287–97.Google Scholar
Mangano, DT.Perioperative cardiac morbidity. Anesthesiology 1990; 72: 153–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raby, KE, Goldman, L, Creager, MA, et al. Correlation between preoperative ischemia and major cardiac events after peripheral vascular surgery. N Engl J Med 1989; 321: 1296–300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Urban, MK, Markowitz, SM, Gordon, MA, et al. Postoperative prophylactic administration of beta-adrenergic blockers in patients at risk for myocardial ischemia. Anesth Analg 2000; 90: 1257–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Abhayaratna, WP, Smith, WT, Becker, NG, et al. Prevalence of heart failure and systolic ventricular dysfunction in older Australians: the Canberra Heart Study. Med J Aust 2006; 184: 151–4.Google ScholarPubMed
Clark, RA, McLennan, S, Dawson, A, et al. Uncovering a hidden epidemic: a study of the current burden of heart failure in Australia. Heart Lung Circ 2004; 13: 266–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hernandez, AF, Whellan, DJ, Stroud, S, et al. Outcomes in heart failure patients after major noncardiac surgery. J Am Coll Cardiol 2004; 44: 1446–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunselman, PH, Kuntze, CE, Bruggen, A, et al. Value of New York Heart Association classification, radionuclide ventriculography, and cardiopulmonary exercise tests for selection of patients for congestive heart failure studies. Am Heart J 1988; 116: 1475–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wasserman, K.Preoperative evaluation of cardiovascular reserve in the elderly. Chest 1993; 104: 663–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lavoisier, A-L.Traite elementaire de Chimie. First edn. Paris, 1790; Dover edn. 1965.Google Scholar
Myers, J, Prakash, M, Froelicher, V, et al. Exercise capacity and mortality among men referred for exercise testing. N Engl J Med 2002; 346: 793–801.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gerson, MC, Hurst, JM, Hertzberg, VS, et al. Cardiac prognosis in noncardiac geriatric surgery. Ann Intern Med 1985; 103: 832–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greenburg, AG, Saik, RP, Pridham, D.Influence of age on mortality of colon surgery. Am J Surg 1985; 150: 65–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gitt, AK, Wasserman, K, Kilkowski, C, et al. Exercise anaerobic threshold and ventilatory efficiency identify heart failure patients for high risk of early death. Circulation 2002; 106: 3079–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibbons, RJ, Balady, GJ, Bricker, Timothy J, et al. ACC/AHA 2002 guideline update for exercise testing: summary article. A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Committee to Update the 1997 Exercise Testing Guidelines). J Am Coll Cardiol 2002; 40: 1531–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hlatky, MA, Boineau, RE, Higginbotham, MB, et al. A brief self-administered questionnaire to determine functional capacity (the Duke Activity Status Index). Am J Cardiol 1989; 64: 651–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carliner, NH, Fisher, ML, Plotnick, GD, et al. Routine preoperative exercise testing in patients undergoing major noncardiac surgery. Am J Cardiol 1985; 56: 51–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McPhail, N, Calvin, JE, Shariatmadar, A, et al. The use of preoperative exercise testing to predict cardiac complications after arterial reconstruction. J Vasc Surg 1988; 7: 60–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Froelicher V. Interpretation of specific exercise test responses. In: Froelicher, V, ed. Exercise and the Heart. Chicago, IL: Year Book Medical Publishers, 1987; pp. 83–145.Google ScholarPubMed
Wasserman, K.Diagnosing cardiovascular and lung pathophysiology from exercise gas exchange. Chest 1997; 112: 1091–101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wallace A. Perioperative Cardiac Risk Reduction Therapy; www.cardiacengineering.com.
Lee, TH, Boucher, CA.Clinical practice. Noninvasive tests in patients with stable coronary artery disease. N Engl J Med 2001; 344: 1840–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grecu, L, Mehaffey, C, Isselbacher, E.Preoperative noninvasive cardiac testing: which test and why?Int Anesthesiol Clin 2002; 40: 121–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eagle, K, Brunage, B, Chaitman, B, et al. Guidelines for perioperative cardiovascular evaluation for noncardiac surgery. Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practise Guidelines. Committee on Perioperative Cardiovascular Evaluation for Non-cardiac Surgery. Circulation 1996; 93: 1278–317.Google Scholar
Eagle, KA, Berger, PB, Calkins, H, et al. ACC/AHA guideline update for perioperative cardiovascular evaluation for noncardiac surgery – executive summary. A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Committee to Update the 1996 Guidelines on Perioperative Cardiovascular Evaluation for Noncardiac Surgery). Anesth Analg 2002; 94: 1052–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Older P, Hall A. The role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in evaluation of surgical patients. In Wasserman, K, ed. Preoperative Assessment of Elderly Surgical Patients. Armonk, NY: Futura Publishing Company Inc., 2002; pp. 119–33.Google Scholar
Zile, MR, Baicu, CF, Gaasch, WH.Diastolic heart failure – abnormalities in active relaxation and passive stiffness of the left ventricle. N Engl J Med 2004; 350: 1953–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Redfield, MM.Understanding “diastolic” heart failure. N Engl J Med 2004; 350: 1930–1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tresch, DD, McGough, MF.Heart failure with normal systolic function: a common disorder in older people. J Am Geriatr Soc 1995; 43: 1035–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bodenheimer, MM.Noncardiac surgery in the cardiac patient: what is the question?Ann Intern Med 1996; 124: 763–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gould, G, Pearce, A.Assessment of suitability for lung resection. Contin Educ Anaesth, Crit Care Pain 2006; 6: 97–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×