Tag: Perioperative management

Chronic hypertension is the most frequent medical comorbidity encountered in adult patients undergoing surgery, impacting as many as 46% of the U.S. population. As a result, understanding how does hypertension affect anaesthesia is crucial for mitigating risks and ensuring a safe surgical outcome. The condition significantly increases the likelihood of hemodynamic instability—wide swings in blood pressure—throughout the perioperative period.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects up to 25% of individuals undergoing surgery and is a significant factor in perioperative risk. So, is high blood pressure a risk for anesthesia? The short answer is yes, especially if it is not well-controlled. However, modern anesthesia and pharmacology have made it much safer to manage this condition during and after surgery.

Prematurely stopping antiplatelet agents like clopidogrel can increase the risk of serious thrombotic events by as much as 10%, highlighting the delicate balance required in perioperative care. Determining *when to stop clopidogrel before surgery* is a critical decision that requires careful consideration of the patient's cardiovascular risk versus the procedure's bleeding risk.

In pheochromocytoma, tumors produce excessive catecholamines, leading to severe and potentially fatal hypertensive crises. Phentolamine is an alpha-adrenergic blocker used to mitigate these life-threatening events by rapidly and effectively lowering dangerously high blood pressure.