Omar A Minai, Jean-Pierre Yared, Roop Kaw, Kathirvel Subramaniam, Nicholas S Hill
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a known risk factor for perioperative complications. Unlike in the case of cardiac surgery, PH is currently not listed as an independent risk factor for postoperative complications in guidelines for the management of noncardiac surgery. Despite the paucity of data, though, patients with PH are often counseled against having elective procedures because early and sudden postoperative deaths have been reported. Patients with PH are unable to accommodate alterations in right ventricular (RV) preload or afterload induced by fluid shifts, medications, or changes in the autonomic nervous system precipitated by hypoxia or hypercapnia...
July 2013: Chest