Heart Checkup Before Knee or Hip Surgery
Heart Checkup Before Knee or Hip Surgery
Before knee or hip surgery, the goal of a heart checkup is to make sure your cardiovascular condition is stable enough for anesthesia and recovery.
Not everyone needs extensive cardiac testing. Current perioperative guidelines recommend a step-by-step risk assessment and additional heart tests only when they are likely to change treatment or the timing of surgery.
🩺 What Is Usually Checked Before Surgery?
A preoperative assessment may review:
- Blood pressure and heart rate
- Medical and surgical history
- Current medications and supplements
- Diabetes and kidney function
- Previous heart disease or stroke
- Your ability to walk and perform normal activities
- Blood and other routine preoperative tests
The exact tests depend on your health, the planned operation, and the type of anesthesia.
❤️ Who May Need a Cardiology Review?
A cardiology consultation may be appropriate when you have:
- Previous heart attack or coronary artery disease
- Heart failure
- Significant valve disease
- Atrial fibrillation or another arrhythmia
- Previous coronary stent or bypass surgery
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure
- New chest discomfort or breathlessness
- Several major cardiovascular risk factors
Patients with known heart disease, cardiovascular symptoms, or important risk factors may benefit from formal perioperative risk assessment.
💓 Do You Need an ECG, Echocardiogram, or Stress Test?
These tests are not automatically required for every knee or hip surgery patient.
A doctor may consider:
- ECG: When heart disease, rhythm problems, or relevant symptoms are present
- Echocardiogram: When heart failure, valve disease, or unexplained breathlessness is suspected
- Stress test: Only for selected higher-risk patients when functional capacity is poor or unclear and the result could affect management
Routine stress testing is not recommended for low-risk patients or people with good functional capacity.
💊 Review Your Medications Before Surgery
Medication planning is especially important if you take:
- Blood thinners
- Aspirin or other antiplatelet medication
- Blood-pressure medication
- Diabetes medication
- Heart-failure medication
Do not stop these medications on your own. Anticoagulant and antiplatelet decisions need to balance bleeding risk against the risk of blood clots or heart complications.
People taking an SGLT2 inhibitor for diabetes or heart failure are generally advised to stop it 3–4 days before planned surgery because of the risk of perioperative ketoacidosis. Your surgical team should provide the exact instructions.
🏥 Getting Checked Before Surgery in Seoul
Your orthopedic hospital will usually arrange a preoperative assessment. An internal medicine or cardiology clinic may also be involved when cardiovascular risks need further evaluation.
Bring:
- Your medication and supplement list
- Previous ECG or echocardiogram reports
- Records of previous heart procedures
- Home blood-pressure readings
- Recent blood-test results
- Information about any chest pain, breathlessness, or palpitations
Confirm whether English-language support is available and whether outside test results can be accepted by the surgical hospital.
⚠️ When Surgery May Need Further Evaluation First
Tell your surgeon promptly if you develop:
- New or worsening chest pressure
- Shortness of breath at rest or with minimal activity
- Fainting
- New rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Rapid leg swelling or unexplained weight gain
- A recent serious cardiovascular event
Guidelines emphasize stabilizing significant or unstable cardiovascular disease before proceeding with elective noncardiac surgery when appropriate.
✨ Final Thoughts
Most people preparing for knee or hip surgery do not need every available heart test.
The most useful preoperative evaluation considers your symptoms, cardiovascular history, functional ability, medications, and overall surgical risk. ECG, echocardiography, or stress testing should then be added only when there is a clear medical reason.
