High BP Following Heart Surgery Linked to Adverse Outcomes

In addition, serum creatinine levels in the hypertensive patients were increased (25.3%), and postoperative renal dysfunction occurred significantly more often (19.7%) than in normotensive patients. The study was published on September 9, 2016, in the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia.

“The results of this study, showing a relationship between high postoperative BP with acute kidney injury and mortality, were confined to high-risk patients who underwent cardiac surgery,” concluded senior author Prosser Michael Sander, MD, of UKGM, and colleagues. “To what extent, if any, these results applied to patients with similar demographics who undergo non-cardiac surgery or even to different patient cohorts remain speculative.”

Acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery has an incidence rate of 2-8% and confers significant morbidity, increased resource utilization, and greater short- and long-term mortality. Known risk factors for AKI after cardiac surgery are expansive, and include both poorly controlled preoperative and intra-operative BP. The specific contribution of post- operative BP and BP management on the development or progression of AKI and outcomes is less well understood.

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