Postoperative care of the cardiac surgery patient is both challenging and dynamic. Changes
in technology, new research findings, the advent of minimally invasive procedures, and
the development of off-pump procedures now afford patients of advanced age and with
higher levels of acuity the opportunity to undergo procedures for which they were deemed
unsuitable candidates not so long ago. Hence, patients with more—and more significant—
comorbidities are receiving care in the immediate postoperative period in the intensive care unit.