Literature Review On Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a common occurrence after cardiac surgery with incidence as high as 30% in patients undergoing CABG, 40% in valvular surgery and 50% in combined procedures. It is the most common postoperative arrhythmia and is frequently associated with hemodynamic compromise, stroke, prolonged recovery and increased hospital costs. The purpose of this literature review was to assess if amiodarone prophylaxis reduced postoperative atrial fibrillation.

Incidence of atrial fibrillation was found to be lower and of shorter duration in amiodarone treated patients. Amiodarone was not significantly associated with adverse cardiovascular events in these studies. Major findings also demonstrated an amiodarone associated decrease in stroke