Anesthesia in cardiac operations

When the team of physicians-cardiologist, anesthesiologist and surgeon-who are to attend a patient during a cardiac operation study the patient together in preoperative evaluation, they are better able to anticipate emergencies that might arise during the procedure and to deal with them without loss of time for discussion. The principal problems of the anesthesiologist during operation are maintenance of adequate ventilation and oxygenation, maintenance of the lightest level of anesthesia possible (the minimum degree of poisoning), and maintenance of adequate circulation. The cardiologist must maintain constant observation of the heart rate and rhythm and be alert for early signs of myocardial oxygen deficiency.