Cardiothoracic Surgery

Risk prediction in cardiac surgery guides patient selection, informed consent, and resource allocation. The EuroSCORE II, an update to the original logistic EuroSCORE, predicts operative mortality after adult cardiac surgery using patient-related, cardiac-related, and operation-related factors, with improved calibration for contemporary practice.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Risk Score provides procedure-specific mortality and morbidity predictions for CABG, valve, and combined procedures, based on the large STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. It remains the gold standard for risk-adjusted outcomes reporting in North America.

Combined risk assessment tools enable surgeons to identify high-risk patients who may benefit from less invasive approaches such as TAVR or percutaneous mitral repair, supporting the heart team decision-making process mandated by guidelines.