Therapy insight: prophylaxis, monitoring and treatment of perioperative myocardial ischemia with emphasis on urological surgery.

Unrecognized or silent perioperative myocardial ischemia is common in patients who undergo high-risk surgery, including cystectomy, and could predict cardiac morbidity and mortality in postoperative patients. This disorder is not merely a marker of extensive coronary disease but has a close association with perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI). In a review of published data, including meta-analyses, in the context of high-risk urological surgery, up to 50% of PMIs were found to go unrecognized if only clinical signs and symptoms are considered. Prevention and treatment of these previously unrecognized cardiac events might significantly reduce long-term morbidity and mortality. The emergence of reliable markers of PMI, such as increased levels of troponin I, could help in the detection of events that would have otherwise remained unnoticed. In this Review we examine the effect of these developments in the context of high-risk urological surgery. Changes to preoperative assessment, perioperative management, and prophylaxis of PMI are critically assessed. We performed a prospective audit using postoperative troponin I levels to assess the rate of silent perioperative myocardial ischemia and infarction. An increasingly proactive attitude towards perioperative monitoring for myocardial ischemia and infarction has evolved, and postoperative serial screening with troponin I might be beneficial in high-risk patients undergoing major urological surgery.