Anesthesia in geriatric and heart disease dogs and cats

Abstract

Surgical and anesthetic procedures are increased considering the patient's general condition, age, presence of pain, type and duration of procedure, associated diseases or comorbidities, among others. In recent years, the resulting advances in the treatment, nutrition and clinical diagnosis of various diseases have led to a greater life expectancy for companion animals, which has resulted in a growing increase in the number of patients with heart disease and geriatricians in clinical care in Veterinary Medicine, in this context, different anesthetic protocols should be properly and carefully planned, taking into account the Anesthetic Risk Classification according to the American Anesthesiology Association (ASA), thorough patient anamnesis, understanding the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of drugs is essential for the elaboration of a therapeutic protocol beneficial for each patient with its particularity, as in the case of geriatric and heart disease canines and felines. Therefore, this literature review aimed to focus on anesthetic considerations that may support and define safer anesthetic protocols and procedures for performing surgical or outpatient interventions in geriatric dogs and cats with or without underlying heart disease. Based on the authors cited in this work, we conclude that, in general, with the correct performance of anesthetic times, detailed anamnesis and performance of complementary exams focusing on geriatric and cardiac particularities, these animals do not have contraindications for performing an anesthetic procedure, provided that that its limitations are imposed in the formation of such protocols.