Use of alternative medicine by patients undergoing cardiac surgery

Complementary and alternative medicine may influence cardiac surgical care by inducing coagulopathies and interacting with perioperative medications. We evaluated the significance of complementary and alternative medicine use in an acutely ill cardiac surgical population and assessed the willingness of patients to reveal these activities to their physicians and surgeons.

A total of 376 consecutive patients undergoing preoperative or postoperative cardiothoracic surgical evaluations at an urban academic medical center were approached to complete a survey regarding use and attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine. All surveys were administered and collected between March and May 1998.

Completion rate was 70% (n = 263). Respondents were predominantly male (72%), white (76%), and well educated (59%). The overall rate of complementary and alternative medicine use was 75%, but excluding prayer and vitamins, which are often not considered complementary and alternative medicine therapies, the rate was 44%. There was no correlation between the use of complementary and alternative medicine and the parameters of gender, age, race, or education level. Only 17% responded that they had discussed complementary and alternative medicine with their physicians, and 48% responded that they did not want to discuss the topic at all.

Complementary and alternative medicine is used as frequently in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, as in the general population. Physicians and surgeons should be aware that patients have no inherent predisposition toward or against using complementary and alternative medicine, but that they are unlikely to volunteer their experience with it. The unwillingness of patients to discuss complementary and alternative medicine with physicians has serious implications for their safety, especially in acute care situations.