Risk of cardiovascular complications during non-cardiac surgery and preoperative cardiac evaluation

The preoperative evaluation of candidates to non-cardiac surgery requires a knowledge of factors related both to the type of surgery and to the risk of each patient, in order to predict the potential cardiovascular complications. Over the past several decades, the field of preoperative cardiac evaluation before non-cardiac surgery has evolved substantially on the basis of the current guidelines of international medical societies. The aim of this paper is to summarize available evidence on the risk of non-cardiac surgery, focusing on appropriate cardiovascular assessment prior to surgery.