Cardiac Performance after Open Intracardiac Surgery

Cardiac output and related variables were measured in patients after open intracardiac surgery. Factors affecting cardiac performance during this period were the original anatomic lesions, the details of the operative procedure, ventricular-outflow resistance, transfusion of blood, the stage of convalescence, and digitalis. In postoperative patients, metabolic rate, level of hemoglobin, and level of oxygen in arterial blood varied more widely and acutely than in nonsurgical patients, resulting in a less predictable relation between cardiac output and oxygen saturation of mixed venous blood.Therapeutic applications of these observations were discussed.