[Comments on the care provided at the Santa Clara Heart Center].

The essential objective of this work is the care provided at Santa Clara Heart Center to a total of 170 patients who underwent Cardiovascular surgery from October 1986 to December 1987. Data were collected from the record book of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of the Heart Center, taking into account the following variables: sex, age, place of residence, frequency of extracorporeal and closed surgery applied, as well as the causes of the repeated surgery performed. It was found that extracorporeal surgery was performed in 82.2% of patients, who underwent mostly elective cardiovascular surgery. There was a prevalence of acquired diseases. The most frequent causes for repeated surgery were mediastinitis (wound sepsis) and postoperative bleeding. Surgical mortality was 5.8% (112 patients).