Clonidine and Aspirin Fail to Reduce Peri-operative Myocardial Infarction

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the most common major vascular event that occurs after planned non-cardiac surgery.  Multiple strategies have been assessed to try and reduce the rates of peri-operative MI, but few have consistently demonstrated substantial benefit.  With a pro-thrombotic environment and marked sympathetic activation thought to play etiological roles, in the POISE-2 study, the […]

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β-blockers beneficial in some, but not all, ischemic heart disease patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery

Whether β-blockers reduce adverse events among patients with stable ischemic heart disease (IHD) undergoing non-cardiac surgery remains in debate. In this Danish study, the authors retrospectively identified 28,263 IHD patients who underwent non-cardiac surgeries and examined the association between pre-procedural β-blockers use and a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) defined as 30-day cardiac death, myocardial […]

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Stent type and interrupted anti-platelet therapy does not correlate with adverse events after non-cardiac surgeries

Guidelines recommend delaying elective surgery in patients with drug eluting stent (DES) for one year after stent implantation to allow completion of 1 year of dual anti-platelet therapy (DAPT) without interruption.  This recommendation is based on expert consensus and results in several clinical questions, including whether it is preferable to use a bare metal stent […]

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Beta-blockers could increase risk in noncardiac surgery

Many trials have suggested a protective role for beta-blockade in noncardiac surgery, and the current ACC/AHA guidelines recommend their use in high-risk patients.  However, preliminary results from the recent POISE (Perioperative Ischemic Evaluation (POISE) trial showed a higher incidence of total deaths and stroke in patients receiving peri-operative bera-blockade compared with placebo. […]

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