Aim: To evaluate the value of a more closed perioperative ECG follow-up in the investigation and forecasting of cardiovascular events during and after hospital admission.
Methods: We included in the study 30 asymptomatic patients from cardiac point of view (14 women, 16 men, mean age 63 years), who underwent total hip arthroplasty. ECGs were performed on the day before surgery, on the day of surgery, after the intervention, and on the 3rd day. We looked for the correlations between ECG changes and clinical events.
Results: The commonest postoperative new ECG changes were QTc prolongation (14 patients – 46,6%) and sinus tachycardia (8 patients – 26,6%). There were no major cardiac events during hospitalization, and we found possible correlations in two cases between perioperative ST-T changes and postdischarge clinical events: one exitus and one case of ischemic heart disease.
Conclusions: Our data do not support the efficacy of a more closed, routine ECG follow-up in the studied, low risk patient population, but new perioperative ST-T changes always have to be taken into account.