The effect of postoperative myocardial ischemia on long-term survival after vascular surgery

Introduction The impact of a postoperative troponin elevation on long-term survival after vascular surgery is not well-defined. We hypothesize that a postoperative troponin elevation is associated with significantly reduced long-term survival. Methods The Vascular Study Group of New England registry identified all patients who underwent carotid revascularization, open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (AAA), endovascular AAA repair, or infrainguinal lower extremity bypass (2003-2011). The association of postoperative troponin elevation and myocardial infarction (MI) with 5-year survival was evaluated. Multivariable models identified predictors of survival and of postoperative myocardial ischemia. Results In the entire cohort (n = 16,363), the incidence of postoperative troponin elevation was 1.3% (n = 211) and for MI was 1.6% (n = 264). Incidences differed across procedures ( P < .0001) with the highest incidences after open AAA: troponin elevation, 3.9% (n = 74); MI, 5.1% (n = 96). On Kaplan-Meier analysis, any postoperative myocardial ischemia predicted reduced survival over 5 years postoperatively: no ischemia, 73% (standard error [SE], 0.5%); troponin elevation, 54% (SE, 4%); MI, 33% (SE, 4%) ( P < .0001). This pattern was observed for each procedure subgroup analysis ( P