The Effect of Bisoprolol on Perioperative Mortality and Myocardial Infarction in High-Risk Patients Undergoing Vascular Surgery

Patients undergoing major vascular surgery are at risk for serious perioperative cardiac complications, such as nonfatal myocardial infarction and death. 1 A combination of clinical assessment and noninvasive cardiac testing can be used to identify patients at high risk. 2 Various interventions have been proposed to reduce the risk of cardiac complications in such patients after noncardiac surgery, but none have been found to be efficacious. Drugs that block beta-adrenergic receptors prevent cardiac complications in patients with acute myocardial infarction, silent ischemia, and heart failure. 3 – 6 Perioperative blockade of beta-adrenergic receptors has been proposed to reduce the risk of perioperative cardiac complications. . . .