A ccurate estimation of a patient's risk for postoperative cardiac events (eg, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, ventricular tachycardia, pulmonary edema, and death) after noncardiac surgery can guide allocation of clinical resources, use of preventive therapies, and priorities for future research. This review addresses selected issues in clinical risk assessment, approaches to using diagnostic tests, choices among preventive interventions, and postoperative monitoring. Although we have not used a formal systematic