Cardiology Check Cuts Post-Surgery Heart Risk

Study suggests deaths and serious heart disease might be prevented if some patients see a specialist heart doctor after surgery.

Jan. 30, 2026 at 5:31am

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A new study published in the European Heart Journal suggests that deaths and serious heart disease might be prevented if some patients see a specialist heart doctor as part of their post-surgery care. The study found that patients who were evaluated by a cardiologist after suffering heart damage during or immediately after non-cardiac surgery were less likely to die within a year and less likely to suffer a second serious heart condition.

Why it matters

With an aging population, surgery is increasingly common, and the stress of surgery can lead to heart damage even when the surgery is not on the heart itself. This study indicates that close collaboration between surgical and heart teams can improve outcomes for high-risk patients who suffer heart issues after major surgery.

The details

Researchers studied 1,048 patients who had suffered heart damage around the time of their non-cardiac surgery. Of these, 614 were evaluated by a cardiologist, while 434 were not due to factors like weekends or prioritizing more urgent patients. Patients seen by a cardiologist were 35% less likely to die within a year and 46% less likely to suffer serious heart problems like heart attack or heart failure.

  • The study was published on January 30, 2026.

The players

Dr. Christian Puelacher

Researcher from the University of Basel, Switzerland, who led the study.

Dr. Noemi Glarner

Researcher from the University of Basel, Switzerland, who co-authored the study.

Professor Christian Müller

Researcher from the University of Basel, Switzerland, who led the research team.

Professor William Weintraub

Professor from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. who wrote an editorial accompanying the study.

University Hospital Basel

One of the hospitals where the study was conducted.

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What they’re saying

“With our aging population, surgery is increasingly common. Even when surgery is not on the heart, the heart is challenged by the stress of surgery, including anesthesia, blood loss, inflammation and changes in blood pressure. This can lead to perioperative myocardial infarction/injury, or PMI for short.”

— Dr. Christian Puelacher, Researcher (Mirage News)

“Our study shows that having a cardiologist involved in a patient's care after PMI is associated with fewer serious heart problems and better survival one year later. Our results suggest that close teamwork between surgical and heart teams can improve outcomes after major surgery.”

— Dr. Christian Puelacher, Researcher (Mirage News)

“This is a valuable study concerning an important and potentially modifiable management issue in patients who sustain a PMI in hospital after non-cardiac surgery. The study was conducted rigorously, with careful prospective data collection and appropriate evaluation of outcomes using well-validated statistical analyses.”

— Professor William Weintraub (Mirage News)

What’s next

The researchers are now running an implementation study of screening for PMI in hospitals across Switzerland and Austria, including work at Dr. Puelacher's current institution, the Medical University Innsbruck.

The takeaway

This study suggests that close collaboration between surgical and cardiology teams can significantly improve outcomes for high-risk patients who suffer heart damage after major surgery, underscoring the importance of comprehensive post-operative care.