Introduction Battery-operated pacemakers (PMs) revolutionized the treatment of fatal electrical conduction abnormalities in 1958, just a few years after the invention of the transistor. As this science has matured, PMs…
Introduction Many surgical procedures in the ambulatory setting are performed using general anesthesia. Recovery time after surgery and anesthesia is an important aspect that should be considered when a general…
Introduction Experimental evidence has indicated that inhalational anesthetics have organ-protective effects against the consequences of ischemia–reperfusion injury. Although these protective effects have been most extensively characterized in myocardial tissue, it…
Introduction Preoperative cardiovascular risk assessment attempts to prospectively identify at-risk patients, allowing targeted perioperative management so that event rates can be reduced. Perioperative cardiac events include both “demand” events, in…
Introduction The preoperative assessment of a patient in need of elective noncardiac surgery is often a difficult task. There has been enormous controversy regarding the appropriate strategy for diagnosing and…
Introduction Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has revolutionized the management of coronary artery disease (CAD), initially with balloon angioplasty (BA) and subsequently with coronary stenting both with bare-metal stents (BMSs) and…
Introduction Cigarette smoking is the most important avoidable cause of mortality in the United States. The long-term effects of cigarette smoking in causing cardiac disease, vascular disease, pulmonary disease, and…
Introduction Hypertension affects about 1 billion people and is a leading cause of death worldwide. This global prevalence is likely to increase further as the population ages. The relationship between…
Introduction Prevalence and Epidemiology Cocaine abuse and addiction continue to be a problem that plagues the United States and many other countries. Data from the U.S. Drug Abuse Warning Network…
Introduction Perioperative stroke is a potentially devastating complication of surgery that has an incidence that varies widely with the surgical procedure. A perioperative stroke can occur intraoperatively or in the…
