[Limitation of operability. What does the internist need to know?]

The number of elderly people that are critically ill and are send for surgery is rising rapidly. As co-morbidities such as heart disease have huge impact on the perioperative risk, identification of specific risk factors should guide the pre- and perioperative management. Several risk scores and the guidelines published by the European Society of Cardiology recently are currently available and are reviewed in the current manuscript. Evaluation of the medical history of the individual patient and functional tests are the basis for further decisions. Patients that are suffering from co-morbidities or reduced physical fitness are identified as risk patients. Patients without risk factors can be sent for surgery without additional evaluation. In moderate risk patients medication should be optimized prior to surgery. Except emergency surgery cases critical illness should be identified and treated before surgery is initiated. Depending on the number of potential risk factors non-invasive cardiac stress tests are recommended. Depending on the results also coronary angiography/-angioplasty should be performed. Acute coronary syndromes or unstable angina should preferentially be treated prior to surgery.