A new study done by researchers in Hamilton has found that a simple blood test can predict and possibly prevent many of the deaths that happen after surgery.

Nearly 22,000 patients aged 45 years or older were enrolled in the VISION study by researchers at Hamilton Health Sciences’ Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) and McMaster University. They found that 18 per cent of the patients, who hailed from 23 hospitals in 13 countries, sustained heart damage within 30 days of non-cardiac surgery. The study says that without enhanced monitoring as many as 93 per cent of those complications will go undetected, potentially until it’s too late.

“The effects of surgery anywhere in the body create a perfect milieu for damage to heart tissue, including bleeding, blood clot formation, and long periods of inflammation,” said Dr. P.J. Devereaux, director, division of cardiology at McMaster University and principal investigator for the VISION study in a press release. “In most cases, this damage occurs within the first 24 to 36 hours after surgery when patients usually receive narcotic painkillers that can mask symptoms of cardiac distress.”

Patients had their blood tested after surgery for a protein called high-sensitivity troponin T, which is released into the bloodstream when injury to the heart occurs. Devereaux says that monitoring the levels of troponin after surgery will help identify and avoid heart injuries.

The study found that 1.4 per cent of patients died within 30 days following non-cardiac surgery.

“One per cent seems like a small number, until you consider that about 200 million surgeries are performed each year around the world,” said Devereaux. “Where we’re letting patients down is in post-operative management. We now know that we need to become more involved in care and monitoring after surgery to ensure that patients at risk have the best chance for a good recovery. These discoveries have the potential to save lives.”

VISION Study from Hamilton Health Sciences on Vimeo.