Cardiovascular pharmacotherapeutic considerations in patients undergoing anesthesia.

Demographic shifts toward an increasingly older population have resulted in a high prevalence of persons taking cardiovascular medication. Many patients on cardiovascular medications will require surgical intervention for conditions often unrelated to their cardiovascular pathology. Cardiologists and anesthesiologists alike must be knowledgeable about the potential interactions between cardiovascular drugs and anesthetics agents or adjuvant therapies administered perioperatively. Current recommendations suggest that beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, amiodarone, and alpha2 agonists should be continued throughout the perioperative period, whereas angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, and diuretics should be discontinued on the morning of surgery and resumed in the immediate postoperative period, unless contraindicated.

Perioperative management of a patient with hereditary angioedema during off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

The case of a patient with hereditary angioedema (HAE), a rare, life-threatening disorder caused by reduced activity of the C1 esterase inhibitor, and requiring off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (OP-CABG) surgery, is presented. Perioperative management of patients with HAE who undergo complex cardiac surgical procedures are discussed, including an OP-CABG surgical approach to decrease complement activation, fresh-frozen plasma administration to increase C1 esterase inhibitor activity, and administration of reduced doses of heparin and protamine to minimize heparin-protamine complex formation.

Right ventricular systolic function is not depressed in morbid obesity.

BACKGROUND: The increased pulmonary blood volume associated with the increased total blood volume in morbidly obese patients increases pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, resulting in increased right ventricular (RV) afterload. Thus, the morbidly obese may develop RV dysfunction owing to the increased RV afterload. We examined this possibility by assessing RV contractile function in morbidly obese patients, using RV end-systolic pressure-volume relationship and RV systolic time intervals. METHODS: Included were 25 morbidly obese patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery under general anesthesia. Pulmonary artery pressure and RV end-systolic volume were measured with a thermodilution pulmonary artery catheter. Pulmonary arterial dicrotic notch pressure was used as an estimate of RV end-systolic pressure. Two data points were used to define RV end-systolic pressure-volume relationship. RV systolic time intervals were determined by simultaneous graphic display of the electrocardiograph, phonocardiograph, and pulmonary artery pressure curve, and were expressed as a pre-ejection period/RV ejection time ratio. RESULTS: The mean slope of right ventricular end-systolic pressure-volume relationship line was 0.54 +/- 0.13 and mean pulmonary vascular resistance 274 +/- 80 dyne.sec.cm(-5).m(-2). The mean pre-ejection period/RV ejection time ratio was 0.4 +/- 0.11. There was an inverse correlation between the pre-ejection/RV ejection time ratio and the slope of RV end-systolic pressure-volume relationship line (R(2)=0.658, P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that RV function is not depressed in morbid obesity despite increased RV afterload.

General anesthesia for ophthalmic surgery.

Skillful anesthetic management is integral to optimal outcomes after ophthalmic surgery. Although the majority of ophthalmic operations in the United States are performed with local anesthetic techniques, nonetheless general anesthesia may be either necessary or advisable in several challenging circumstances. Ophthalmic patients are often at the extremes of age, and not uncommonly have extensive associated systemic or metabolic diseases. Because the complications of ophthalmic anesthesia can be vision threatening or life threatening, it is imperative that the ophthalmologist and the anesthesiologist understand the complex and dynamic interaction among patient diseases, anesthetic agents, ophthalmic drugs, and surgical manipulation. Effective communication and planning among all involved are essential to safe and efficient perioperative care.