Perioperative myocardial injury and hemostasis in patients undergoing endovascular aneurysm repair for asymptomatic infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Objective: (1) To report the incidence of myocardial injury in patients undergoing endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) through the routine measurement of perioperative cardiac troponin-T (cTnT) and (2) to investigate and correlate changes in perioperative cTnT levels with any concomitant hemostatic derangement.

Methods: Prospective study of 30 patients undergoing elective EVAR for infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm. Cardiac TnT was assayed at 24 hours postoperatively. Plasma thrombin antithrombin III complex (TAT), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) activity, and soluble P-selectin (sP-selectin) were assayed preoperatively and at 24 hours postoperatively.

Results: Five (17%) patients demonstrated elevated cTnT levels at 24 hours; 3 patients had no clinical evidence of myocardial injury. There was a positive correlation between cTnT and TAT levels at 24 hours post-EVAR (r = .38, P = .039, Kendall-tau B = 0.26).

Conclusions: Endovascular aortic aneurysm repair is associated with a significant risk of perioperative myocardial injury that is underdetected clinically and associated with a procoagulopathic state.