Vascular surgery mortality

Surgery is considered any procedure to remove, repair or replace a part of the body. Vascular surgery is any surgery involving the arteries and veins.

Hospitals seek to prevent patient deaths wherever possible. Not all deaths can be avoided, and some patients have higher risks than others or choose to discontinue treatment. However, some deaths are preventable.  A lower than expected mortality rate (a value of less than 1) may indicate that a hospital provides a higher level of patient care.

About this measure

Mortality rate is the statistical measure of the number of people who die. Vascular surgery mortality rate for this measure is expressed as the observed (actual) mortality in the hospital (deaths per 100 patients), compared to the “expected” mortality rate for similar patients at academic medical centers in the United States who participate in the University Healthsystem Consortium’s Clinical Data Base.  A value of 1.0 means that the mortality rate was exactly as expected.  A rate higher than 1.0 means the rate was higher than expected, and a rate below 1.0 means the rate was lower than expected.  

Note: In this case, a lower number is better.