Postoperative mortality and atrial fibrillation before surgical revascularization. Is there a significant link?

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is o­ne of the most common complication after cardiac surgery, occurring, according to various authors, with frequency 10 to 50%. Material and methods: Between 2000 and 2004 3000 patients, involved to the study, underwent primary isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Almost 5.8% (174 patients) of them had electrocardiographically documented preoperative atrial fibrillation (AF). To evaluate the relationship between preoperative AF and postoperative mortality all patients were observed at least 12 months. Results: Patients with preoperative atrial fibrillation were older (p

Keywords: Atrial Fibrillation, Mortality, revascularization, riskfactors