FRIDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- Variations in perioperative blood pressure are associated with 30-day mortality in cardiac surgical patients, with increased mortality risks for high-risk than low-risk patients, according to a study published in the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia.

Solomon Aronson, M.D., from the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and colleagues investigated the association between SBP variability and 30-day mortality in 1,512 cardiac surgical patients participating in the Evaluation of CLevidipine In the Perioperative Treatment of Hypertension Assessing Safety Events trials who had perioperative hypertension. Blood pressure variability was measured as the product of magnitude and duration of SBP episodes outside defined ranges (area under the curve). The SBP ranges analyzed were 65 to 135 mm Hg intraoperatively, and 75 to 145 mm Hg pre- or postoperatively. The SBP ranges were progressively narrowed to 105 to 135 mm Hg intraoperatively, and 115 to 145 mm Hg pre- and postoperatively.