Cholecysto-cardiac link.

Thirty normotensive patients (ASA class I) and 30 treated hypertensives without any cardiac problem (ASA class II) were subjected to elective cholecystectomy under general anaesthesia. Patients' age ranged from 25-50 yr, and male:female ratio was 1:11. There were significant increases in heart rate and mean arterial pressure in both the groups (P less than 0.05) during surgical manipulations for removal of the diseased gall bladders. The alterations in the treated hypertensive patients were not only much more than in the normotensives, but also were associated with tachyarrhythmias in 33.33 per cent of hypertensive patients. All changes returned to the pre-induction level at the end of the surgery. Mediation through fifth thoracic spinal segment, a common source of sympathetic supply to heart and gallbladder, explained the observed cholecystocardiac link. Anaesthetists therefore need to be vigilant during cholecystectomies.