A new study suggests that the deadliest time for many hospital patients is not when they are in the operating room. Instead, it is the period when patients are recovering in the hospital and after they go home. Researchers examined medical records of more than 40,000 patients, aged 45 years and older. The records came from 28 hospitals in 14 countries. Doctors had performed surgery on each patient, but none of the operations was related to the heart. The researchers looked for patients with health problems or death within 30 days of surgery. A total of five people died during the operation. That represents less than 1% of all patients. Another 500 patients, or 70%, died in the hospital. And 210 deaths, or 29%, did not happen until after patients were sent home. Nearly half of all the deaths were linked to one of three problems: major bleeding, heart damage and blood infections.