Anaesthesia for cardiac surgery

Cardiac anaesthesia continues to develop as a specialized discipline within the wide field of clinical anaesthesia. A comprehensive knowledge of cardiovascular physiology and its improved monitoring with modern invasive and non-invasive devices is the basis for the pharmacological treatment of complex cardiovascular disorders. Excellent skills in intraoperative transoesophageal echocardiography have become essential. Rapid developments in cardiopulmonary bypass techniques and surgical devices have resulted in the speedy introduction of new surgical techniques which anaesthesia has to embrace. The developments in the field of (left) ventricular assist devices are expansive. By changing the paradigm of the indication of implantation from ‘bridging to heart transplantation’ to ‘destination therapy’, particularly in the large group of elderly patients with end-stage heart failure, these complex operations are no longer restricted to the small group of heart centres performing heart transplantation. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of modern cardiac anaesthesia in the contemporary world of quickly evolving cardiac surgery. The basics of anaesthesia management for the ‘cardiac’ patient are described and principles of extracorporeal circulation as well as diagnostic and treatment strategies of disturbances of the haemostatic system are highlighted. Pharmacological strategies to treat left- and right-heart failure and strategies for temporary mechanical support are outlined. Further areas of focus are the anaesthetic implications of modern less or minimally invasive procedures such as off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting and minimally invasive valve implantation/surgery and anaesthesia for implantation of ventricular assist devices and heart transplantation.