Abstract
The topic of atrial fibrillation after recent cardiac surgery has been one of intense interest for at least the past decade. Entire books have been written on this subject [1]. The reasons behind such intense interest are not entirely clear. However, the major driving factor seems to be the demonstrated relationship between post-operative atrial fibrillation and length of stay in hospital after surgery. Particularly in North America, there is a tremendous financial incentive to shorten the length of stay in hospital after cardiac surgery. The “current wisdom” is that if atrial fibrillation can be prevented, the average length of stay in hospital after cardiac surgery will be shortened. In the opinion of this author, the “current wisdom” is extremely naïve, unlikely to be correct and a more pragmatic approach would be preferable in the quest to shorten length of stay after cardiac surgery. The reasons for this opinion will be outlined below.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery, (2000), Ed. J. Steinberg, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA, USA, 02061
Aranki SF, Shaw DP, Adams DH et al (1996) Predictors of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery surgery. Current trends and impact on hospital resources. Circulation 94:390–397
Fuster V, Ryden LE, Asinger RW et al (2001) ACC/AHA/ESC guidelines for the mana-gement of patients with atrial fibrillation: executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines and Policy Conferences (Committee to Develop Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation). Circulation 104:2118–2150
Bruins P, Velthuis H, Yazdanbakhsh AP et al (1997) Activation of the complement system during and after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery: postsurgery activation involves C-reactive protein and is associated with post-operative arrhythmia. Circulation 96:3542–3548
Crystal E, Connolly SJ, Sleik K, Ginger TJ, Yusuf S (2002) Interventions on prevention of post-operative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing heart surgery: a metaanalysis. Circulation 106:75–80
Myers MG, Alnemri K (1998) Rate control therapy for atrial fibrillation following coronary artery bypass surgery. Can J Cardiol 14:1363–1366
Hohnloser SH, Kuck KH, Lilienthal J (2000) Rhythm or rate control in atrial fibrillation-Pharmacological Intervention in Atrial Fibrillation (PIAF): a randomized trial. Lancet 356:1789–1794
The AFFIRM Investigators (2002) A comparison of rate control and rhythm control in patients with a trial fibrillation. New Engl J Med 347:1825–1833
van Gelder IC, Hagens VE, Bosker HA et al (2002) A comparison of rate control and rhythm control in patients with recurrent persistent atrial fibrillation. New Engl J Med 347:1834–1840
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer-Verlag Italia
About this paper
Cite this paper
Wyse, D.G. (2004). Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery: What’s All the Fuss About?. In: Raviele, A. (eds) Cardiac Arrhythmias 2003. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2137-2_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2137-2_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Milano
Print ISBN: 978-88-470-2177-8
Online ISBN: 978-88-470-2137-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive