Assessment and Management of Ischaemic Heart Disease in Non-Cardiac Surgery

In the setting of non-cardiac surgery, cardiac complications contribute to over a third of perioperative deaths. With over 230 million major surgeries performed annually, and an increasing prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and ischaemic heart disease, the incidence of perioperative myocardial infarction is also rising. The recent European Society of Cardiology guidelines on cardiovascular risk in non-cardiac surgery elevated practices aiming to identify those at most risk, including biomarker monitoring and stress testing. However the current evidence base on if, and how, the risk of cardiac events can be modified is lacking. This review focuses on patient, surgical and cardiac risk assessment, as well as exploring the data on perioperative revascularization and other risk-reduction strategies.