Rationale and Comments

Noninvasive testing is not useful for patients undergoing low-risk noncardiac surgery or with no cardiac symptoms or clinical risk factors undergoing intermediate-risk noncardiac surgery. These types of testing do not change the patient’s clinical management or outcomes and will result in increased costs. Therefore, it is not appropriate to perform cardiac imaging procedures for noncardiac surgery risk assessment in patients with no cardiac symptoms, clinical risk factors, or who have moderate to good functional capacity.

Sponsoring Organizations

• American Society of Nuclear Cardiology

Sources

• ACC/AHA guidelines

Disciplines

• Cardiovascular
• Surgical

References

• Hendel RC, Berman DS, Di Carli MF, Heidenreich PA, Henkin RE, Pellikka PA, Pohost GM, Williams KA. ACCF/ASNC/ACR/AHA/ASE/SCCT/SCMR/SNM 2009 appropriate use criteria for cardiac radionuclide imaging: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Appropriate Use Criteria Task Force, the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, the American College of Radiology, the American Heart Association, the American Society of Echocardiography, the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, and the Society of Nuclear Medicine. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009;53:2201-29.
  
• Fleisher LA, Beckman JA, Brown KA, Calkins H, Chaikof EL, Fleischmann KE, Freeman WK, Froehlich JB, Kasper EK, Kersten JR, Riegel B, Robb JF. ACC/AHA 2007 guidelines on perioperative cardiovascular evaluation and care for noncardiac surgery: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 2002 Guidelines on Perioperative Cardiovascular Evaluation for Noncardiac Surgery). J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;50:e159-242.