Heart Failure in Patients Undergoing Elective and Emergency Noncardiac Surgery: Still a Poorly Addressed Risk Factor

Noncardiac surgery is increasingly offered to an older, more comorbid population. The aim was to characterize patients with the diagnosis of heart failure (HF) undergoing elective and emergency noncardiac surgery in a broad, contemporary Swedish cohort, and to assess the short- and long-term mortality in patients with HF as compared with patients without HF.

Data from 200,638 and 97,129 patients undergoing elective and emergency surgical procedures at 23 Swedish university, county, and district hospitals during 2007 to 2013 were analyzed through linkage of the surgical Orbit Database to the National Patient and the Cause of Death registries. In total 7212 patients (3.6%) with a diagnosis of HF before surgery underwent elective and 6455 patients (6.6%) underwent emergency surgery. Patients with HF were older had more comorbidities, and higher mortality than patients without HF. Crude and adjusted risk ratios for 30-day mortality after elective surgery were 5.36 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.67-6.16) and 1.79 (95% CI 1.50-2.14) (adjusted for comorbidities, surgical risk level, age, and sex). Corresponding data for emergency surgery was 3.84 (95% CI 3.58-4.12) and 1.48 (95% CI 1.31-1.62). Mortality in patients with HF after elective surgery at 30 days, 90 days, and 1 year was 3.2%, 6.5%, and 16.2% and after emergency surgery it was 13.7%, 22.4%, and 39.3%.

Patients with HF undergoing elective or emergency noncardiac surgery in a modern surgical setting have a substantial mortality risk and HF is both a risk factor and a strong marker for increasd risk. The reasons for the high mortality are not well-understood and warrant further attention.