Atrioventricular block in coronary artery bypass surgery: perioperative predictors and impact on mortality.

Introduction: Disturbances of the cardiac conduction system are frequent in the postoperative period of coronary artery bypass surgery. They are mostly reversible and associated with some injury of the conduction tissue, caused by the ischemic heart disease itself or by perioperative factors.

Objective: Primary: investigate the association between perioperative factors and the emergence of atrioventricular block in the postoperative period of coronary artery bypass surgery.

Predictors of stroke in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Objective: To determine the risk factors related to the development of stroke in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Methods: A historical cohort study. We included 4626 patients aged > 18 years who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery, heart valve replacement surgery alone or heart valve surgery combined with coronary artery bypass grafting between January 1996 and December 2011.

Unstable angina does not increase mortality in coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Introduction: Coronary artery bypass graft is often the treatment of choice for patients who suffer from unstable angina. We do not know whether this condition adds morbidity in this scenario.

Objective: To compare the outcomes of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft with unstable angina framework with patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft showed no unstable angina.

The use of inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme and its relation to events in the postoperative period of CABG.

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors reduce the chance of death, myocardial infarction (MI) and cerebrovascular accident (CVA) in patients with coronary disease. However there is no consensus as to its indication in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Objective: To assess the relationship between preoperative use of ACE inhibitors and clinical outcomes after CABG.

The impact of blood transfusion on morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgery.

Objectives: To analyze the impact of blood transfusion on the incidence of clinical outcomes postoperatively (PO) from cardiac surgery.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study. We analyzed 4028 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), valve (TV), or both, in Brazilian tertiary university hospital between 1996 and 2009.

Preoperative serum fibrinogen as a predictor of myocardial infarction in the surgical myocardial revascularization.

Objective: Determine the predictive level of preoperative serum fibrinogen level for the occurrence of MI in perioperative surgical myocardial revascularization (SMR), as well as for other impacting outcomes, such as stroke, pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE), and death, separately or in combination.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study based on the heart surgery database analysis from São Lucas Hospital, at Rio Grande do Sul Catholic University with 1,471 consecutive patients submitted to extracorporeal SMR between January, 1998 and December, 2002.

Results: Perioperative MI occurred in 14% of sample patients.

High dose of amiodarone in a short-term period reduces the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter.

Objective: To investigate whether oral amiodarone administered before surgery for a short period in high dose would reduce the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter and reduces the length of hospital stay.

Methods: In the double-blind, randomized study, 93 patients were given either oral amiodarone (46 patients) or placebo (47 patients). Therapy consisted of 600 mg of amiodarone three times a day, started at minimum 30 hours and at maximum 56 hours before surgery.