Background: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia that occurs after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). 3% and 19.3% of CABG and OPCAB patients, respectively (p = 0.3). The peak incidence of arrhythmia was observed between the second and third postoperative day in both CABG and OPCAB patients (36% and 41%, respectively). Patient's age and history of hypertension were significant predictors of postoperative AF (OR 1.38, p = 0.0002; and OR 1.38, p = 0.008, respectively). Patients who developed AF vs. without AF had significantly higher rates of complications such as death (3.1% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.01), reoperation (5.2% vs. 2.8%, p = 0.02), and the need to utilize intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) (6.8% vs. 3.4%, p = 0.002). Use of IABP and reoperation were significant perioperative predictors of the arrhythmia (OR 2.1, p = 0.003; and OR 1.9, p = 0.02, respectively). AF was also associated with a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit (72.5 ± 78.8 for patients with AF vs. 34.6 ± 25.2 for patients with sinus rhythm, p = 0.000001).
Conclusions:In patients undergoing CABG, postoperative AF is a common arrhythmia independent of the type of surgical procedure. (Cardiol J 2016; 23, 5: 518-523)