Month: October 2013

A new study offers guidance for people who need non-heart surgery soon after having a stent placed to open a clogged artery. Researchers wanted to find out what medical situations increase the risk of heart-related problems within 30 days of the surgery. The study looked at data on about 28,000 people who had stent procedures. Each person also had non-heart surgery in the 2 years after the stent was placed. About 5% died or had a major heart problem within a month after that surgery. The problems included a heart attack or the need for another procedure to open an artery. These heart problems were more likely among people who had their surgery within 6 weeks to 6 months after the stent was placed. Problems also occurred more often in 3 groups.

Older patients who fall in the 6 months before major surgery are more likely to have complications after surgery, a new study finds. The study included 235 people – mostly men — ages 65 and older. All had elective heart or intestinal surgery. Thirty-three percent had reported falling in the 6 months before surgery. Researchers compared the number of complications among patients who had fallen to patients who hadn’t fallen. Complications included heart attacks, infections, strokes and blood clots. They found that 59% of patients in the intestinal surgery group who had fallen experienced complications, compared with 25% of patients who hadn’t fallen. Among heart surgery patients, 39% of people who fell had complications, compared with 15% of those who didn’t fall.