Dr KK Answers: What are my chances of getting a heart attack in the perioperative period?

Patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (blockages anywhere in the cardiovascular system), or those with risk factors, are at increased risk for perioperative heart attacks.
The largest POISE trial of 8000 patients has shown that

1.    The incidence of heart attack is 5 percent at 30 days
2.    Three quarters of these occur within 48 hours of surgery.
3.    Approximately 65 percent of patients with heart attacks are asymptomatic.
4.    One should screen high-risk patients with cardiac troponin both before and after noncardiac surgery.

Source: Ann Intern Med 2011; 154:523.