Perioperative ventricular dysrhythmias in patients with structural heart disease undergoing noncardiac surgery.

UNLABELLED: Noncardiac surgical patients with preoperative ventricular dysrhythmias and structural heart disease may be at increased risk of adverse cardiac outcome. We evaluated how anesthesia and surgery affect the course of ventricular dysrhythmias (premature ventricular beats [PVB] and repetitive forms of ventricular beats [RFVB]: couplets and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia) noted preoperatively in patients with structural heart disease and whether the frequency of ventricular dysrhythmias affects cardiac outcome. In a prospective study, 70 patients scheduled for noncardiac surgery with structural heart disease and RFVB on preoperative Holter electrocardiogram were continuously monitored intraoperatively and for 3 days postoperatively. Holter tracings were analyzed for rhythm, medians of total PVB and RFVB per hour. Preoperative RFVB recurred intraoperatively in 35% and postoperatively in 87% of patients. There was a significant intra- and postoperative decrease of total PVB per hour (P < 0.05) and RFVB per hour (P < 0.01). Frequency of ventricular dysrhythmias in the five patients suffering adverse outcome (unstable angina, n = 1; congestive heart failure, n = 4) did not significantly differ from those with good outcome. We conclude that in noncardiac surgical patients with structural heart disease and RFVB, the frequency of ventricular dysrhythmias is not associated with adverse cardiac outcome. IMPLICATIONS: Using continuous electrocardiogram monitoring, we investigated whether the frequency of perioperative ventricular dysrhythmias independently affects outcome in patients with structural heart disease undergoing noncardiac surgery. The incidence of perioperative dysrhythmia in patients with an adverse outcome (8%) did not differ from those with a good outcome.