Inhalation Anesthetics in Vascular Surgery

Vascular patients are a cohort which have an increased surgical risk due to the high incidence of concomitant diseases. A retrospective study in 300 consecutively operated vascular patients demonstrated that mainly preexisting cardiac diseases, e.g., coronary heart disease or cardiac failure, are of greatest relevance. In approximately 60% of cases patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm also suffered from coronary heart disease. The second most frequently diagnosed disease in these patients was cardiac failure. Further major findings of concomitant diseases in patients with vascular disease were preexisting angina, hypertension, and infarction [6]. These retrospective findings were corroborated by preoperative coronary angiography in patients with aortic aneurysm [7].