Surgery after Stent? Assessing the Risk

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.