[Fast pathway for heart surgery]

The increasing demographic and life expectancy rates, together with the vertiginous technological development during the last two decades, have raised the number of cardiac patients requiring surgical treatment. Therefore, several institutions have been forced to give priority to advanced or more serious cases and to postpone those that do not demand an urgent surgery. This analysis was made from June 15, 1999 to June 15, 2000 and demonstrates the results obtained from maintaining a fast track at the National Institute of Cardiology "Ignacio Chávez". This has favored the practice of surgeries in cases with noncomplex pathologies, null mortality, and low morbidity rates. The analysis also compares results from patients who had been subjected to surgery for the same type of pathologies but following the usual course of admittance and surgery scheduling, proving to be cost-efficient. It also demonstrates the high incidence of inter-auricular communication and the Von Willebrand disease that exist in our environment. Based on the results, we propose to maintain and increase this type of surgeries, addressing their limitations.