Atrial Fibrillation after Cardiac Surgery

Cardiac surgery is performed on hundreds of thousands of patients a year, and can have an important beneficial impact on the outcomes of patients with coronary and valvular heart diseases. Despite the favorable recovery of most patients, some will have their post-operative period interrupted by the development of atrial fibrillation, with a host of potential complications including stroke. High risk subgroups may develop atrial fibrillation in more than half of cases, and often despite aggressiv