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What Is ERAS Cardiac?

Content Type: Implementation | Patient

This page was reviewed by the ERAS Cardiac Editorial Team and is provided for general education only. Always talk with your care team about your individual treatment plan and recovery needs.

Summary

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Cardiac is a care approach that helps people recover more comfortably and safely after heart surgery. It brings together your whole care team, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, dietitians, and therapists, to prepare you for surgery, reduce stress on your body, and support faster healing.

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AI Assistance Statement

This summary was developed with assistance from artificial intelligence and reviewed, edited, and approved by the listed editor(s). Reference: OpenAI (2025). ChatGPT (November version) [Large language model]. 
https://chat.openai.com

ERAS Cardiac VEC Disclaimer

The Virtual Education Center (VEC) and all included content are provided for general education about enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery. The information has been reviewed by healthcare professionals but is not meant to replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Every patient’s situation is unique. Always talk with your own doctor or care team about what is best for you.

For questions or comments about the ERAS Cardiac VEC, please contact us.

References

  1. Williams JB, McConnell G, Allender JE, et al. One-year results from the first US-based enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery (ERAS Cardiac) program. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. 2019;157:1881-1888.
  2. Fleming IO, Garratt C, Guha R, Desai J, Chaubey S, Wang Y, Leonard S, Kunst G. Aggregation of Marginal Gains in Cardiac Surgery: Feasibility of a Perioperative Care Bundle for Enhanced Recovery in Cardiac Surgical Patients. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2016 Jun;30(3):665-70. doi: 10.1053/j.jvca.2016.01.017. Epub 2016 Jan 16. PMID: 27321791.
  3. Li M, Zhang J, Gan TJ, Qin G, Wang L, Zhu M, Zhang Z, Pan Y, Ye Z, Zhang F, Chen X, Lin G, Huang L, Luo W, Guo Q, Wang E. Enhanced recovery after surgery pathway for patients undergoing cardiac surgery: a randomized clinical trial. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2018 Sep 1;54(3):491-497. doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezy100. PMID: 29514224.
  4. Zaouter C, Oses P, Assatourian S, Labrousse L, Rémy A, Ouattara A. Reduced Length of Hospital Stay for Cardiac Surgery-Implementing an Optimized Perioperative Pathway: Prospective Evaluation of an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Program Designed for Mini-Invasive Aortic Valve Replacement. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2019 Nov;33(11):3010-3019. doi: 10.1053/j.jvca.2019.05.006. Epub 2019 May 11. PMID: 31153719.
  5. Engelman DT, Ben Ali W, Williams JB, Perrault LP, Reddy VS, Arora RC, Roselli EE, Khoynezhad A, Gerdisch M, Levy JH, Lobdell K, Fletcher N, Kirsch M, Nelson G, Engelman RM, Gregory AJ, Boyle EM. Guidelines for Perioperative Care in Cardiac Surgery: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Society Recommendations. JAMA Surg. 2019 Aug 1;154(8):755-766. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2019.1153. PMID: 31054241.
  6. Noss C, Prusinkiewicz C, Nelson G, Patel PA, Augoustides JG, Gregory AJ. Enhanced Recovery for Cardiac Surgery. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2018 Dec;32(6):2760-2770. doi: 10.1053/j.jvca.2018.01.045. Epub 2018 Jan 31. PMID: 29503121.
  7. Ljungqvist O, Scott M, Fearon KC. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery: A Review. JAMA Surg. 2017 Mar 1;152(3):292-298. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2016.4952. PMID: 28097305.
  8. Gregory AJ, Noss CD, Chun R, Gysel M, Prusinkiewicz C, Webb N, Raymond M, Cogan J, Rousseau-Saine N, Lam W, van Rensburg G, Alli A, de Vasconcelos Papa F. Perioperative Optimization of the Cardiac Surgical Patient. Can J Cardiol. 2023 Apr;39(4):497-514. doi: 10.1016/j.cjca.2023.01.032. Epub 2023 Feb 4. PMID: 36746372.