Atrial fibrillation and coronary bypass surgery - what can be risk factors for its' appearance?

The main goal of our study was to evaluate possible perioperative risk factors for occurrence of atrial fibrillation in the postoperative period in patients after CABG operations. The study included 140 patients after CABG, divided into two groups - Group I - 64 patients with new onset of POAF and Group II - 76 patients without postoperative atrial fibrillation occurrence. In both groups possible risk factors for atrial fibrillation onset (preoperative and postoperative) were analyzed.Results showed that we can predict new onset of atrial fibrillation after CABG if the following preoperative factors are present - low ejection fraction (less than 40%), LAd > 40mm, higher body mass index (BMI over 30), presence of COPD and older age. Important perioperative factors for onset of atrial fibrillation in our study were longer extracorporeal circulation, increased dose/number of inotropic drugs, blood transfusion and elevated WBC count postoperatively.