Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients.

Podcast Summary

Introduction

Dr. Warrick Bishop, a practicing cardiologist and patient education advocate, hosts this episode featuring Dr. Sandy Zelstein, an anaesthetist and colleague, for their third interview together. This episode focuses on how patients can prepare for surgery and the importance of heart-related considerations in the preoperative period.

Key Takeaways:

• Patients typically don't need to select their own anaesthetist; surgeons work with trusted anaesthetists they've built strong professional relationships with over time, forming coordinated teams that deliver better outcomes.

• Strong working relationships between surgeons and anaesthetists are critical for effective communication, problem-solving, and patient safety, whether those relationships are purely professional or extend to personal friendships.

• Patients must bring an accurate, detailed list of all medications to their preoperative appointment and carry this list with them at all times, as medications can be critical for managing blood pressure, blood thinning, and cardiac conditions.

• Red flags that require immediate disclosure to your anaesthetist include previous anaesthetic complications, allergic reactions to anaesthetic agents, difficult airways, and history of severe nausea and vomiting after surgery.

• Patients with diabetes need special planning because blood sugar levels can drop dangerously during anaesthesia, and many diabetes medications must be modified or stopped during fasting periods before surgery.

• Patients with implanted electrical devices like pacemakers or defibrillators must disclose these, as surgical diathermy (electrical cutting and coagulating tools) can interfere with device function.

• Blood-thinning medications must be reported to both your surgeon and anaesthetist before surgery to prevent excessive bleeding during the procedure.

• Patients should develop a preoperative medication management plan in advance, especially those on newer diabetes medicines that can cause complications during fasting periods.