AF common in month after cardiac surgery, study finds

One in five patients discharged home after cardiac surgery are likely to have atrial fibrillation episodes during the 30 days post-surgery, Canadian researchers report.

But only a tenth of these patients will be picked up by a usual-care approach to detecting AF, their study shows.

In the study, 336 patients without preoperative AF who had undergone cardiac surgery (median CHA₂DS₂-VASc score of 4, mean age 67, 22% female) were