Adults diagnosed with AF following non-cardiac surgery have double the risk of subsequent heart failure hospitalisation than those without post-operative AF, a large cohort study shows.

And among patients undergoing cardiac surgery, incident post-operative AF was linked to a one-third greater likelihood of heart failure (HF) complications, according to US investigators.

The Cornell University-led team say their results suggest that the phenomenon — which is already tied to a higher risk of death and stroke — may be a “manifestation of preclinical HF”.

To explore the association, they used data from three million adults (mean age 57) hospitalised for cardiac and non-cardiac surgery and with no prior diagnosis of HF.