Background:

Cataract is the leading cause of reversible blindness worldwide; however, in Mexico, the rate of surgeries performed is far below ideal due to the lack of access to medical services and the price of the surgical procedure. Although preoperative examinations are always performed, there is no scientific evidence that they reduce the risks of intraoperative and postoperative complications.

Objective:

To assess whether there is a relationship between intraoperative and postoperative cardiovascular complications and routine preoperative cardiovascular assessments in patients scheduled for cataract surgery in a Mexican population.

Method:

327 patients undergoing cataract surgery were included in the ophthalmology service of the Hospital General de México, in which the presence of cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular complications was evaluated.

Results:

During the intraoperative period, there were no major vascular events (acute myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, or lethal arrhythmias) regardless of the presence of comorbidity, the type of anesthesia, and the time of surgery for patients with Goldman I and II cardiovascular classification. There were also no major cardiovascular events in the next 7 days.

Conclusions:

Preoperative cardiovascular assessment has no relationship with intraoperative and postoperative morbidity and mortality of cataract surgery.