Atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardiac surgery becomes a vexing problem in the postoperative care of cardiac surgery patients. Though complete prevention is unrealistic, a step-wise treatment strategy that incorporates multiple preventative modalities can significantly reduce the impact of postoperative atrial fibrillation on patient care. This article outlines a brief overview of preventative strategies to reduce associated morbidities. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and morbidity after cardiac surgery.
In such cases, the impact on patient care covers a spectrum from the more common clinically insignificant sequelae to debilitating embolic events. Etiology The multiple-wavelet theory hypothesizes that AF is sustained by multiple, equally dominant, concurrent, and re-entry circuits, due to an alteration or change in the atrial substrate. This change in the…
