ABSTRACT
The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) have published guidelines for the perioperative evaluation and management of patients with heart disease who are to have noncardiac operations. The guidelines recommend a conservative approach. Expensive testing, invasive strategies, and revascularization are rarely, if ever, warranted just to “get the patient through an operation.” Rather, the indications for extensive perioperative testing or revascularization are generally similar to those in a nonoperative setting.
