VIENNA — Preoperative N-terminal prohormone-B-type natriuretic peptide level is a strong and independent predictor of postoperative cardiac event risk in patients undergoing a wide range of noncoronary vascular surgery, Dr. Olaf Schouten reported at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.
In a prospective study in 419 consecutive patients undergoing aortic aneurysm repair, lower-extremity peripheral bypass operations, or carotid surgery, patients with a preoperative NT-proBNP greater than 300 pg/mL had a 5.6-fold increased risk of a postoperative cardiac event, compared with those with a lesser value, even after adjustment for baseline cardiac risk factors and the type of vascular surgery, said Dr. Schouten, a vascular surgeon at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Postoperative cardiac events—defined as the 30-day composite of death, MI, or troponin release—occurred in 20% of the 419 patients. The highest-risk form of vascular surgery was aortic aneurysm repair.