Does the clinical evaluation of the cardiac status predict outcome in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms?

A cost-effective method to reduce mortality rates after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair centers on selecting and investigating only those patients at risk for cardiac-related death. All 146 patients undergoing asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm repair over a 5-year period (1986 to 1990) were retrospectively placed into one of the three following groups on the basis of a clinical evaluation. Group I: no history of myocardial infarction or angina, no congestive heart failure, and no ischemic changes on electrocardiogram (ECG). Group II: history of myocardial infarction or class I-II angina or ischemic changes on ECG. Group III: presence of congestive heart failure or class III-IV angina. Patients in group I had no further cardiac work-up; patients in group II with angina had left ventricular ejection fraction assessment by multiple gated acquisition (all greater than 37%) and were cleared for operation by a cardiologist; patients in group II without angina had no further cardiac work-up; patients in group III had coronary angiography and then coronary revascularization. The overall mortality rate was 4.8%, with a cardiac mortality rate of 3.4%. The mortality rate in group I (n = 64) was 1.8%, with no cardiac-related deaths; the mortality rate in group II (n = 63) was 9.5% (8% cardiac-related deaths). No deaths occurred in group III (n = 19). The difference between the cardiac mortality rates in groups I and II was significant (p = 0.02) as was the postoperative cardiac morbidity: total myocardial infarctions (p less than 0.001); congestive heart failure (p = 0.02); tachyarrhythmias (p = 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)