Magnitude of perioperative mortality. The three leading causes of death in the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) annual death table for the United States in 2006 were: (1) Diseases of heart (n = 631,636); (2) Malignant neoplasms (n = 559,888); and (3) Cerebrovascular diseases (n = 137,119) (Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/LCWK9_2006.pdf. Accessed July 16, 2013.). Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) for the same year, Semel et al.¹⁰  reported 189,690 deaths within 30 days of admission for inpatients having a surgical procedure. In magnitude, all-cause 30-day inpatient mortality after surgery approximated the third leading cause of death in the United States.