Atrial Fibrillation After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Purpose. to identify the role of factors of inflammation and myocardial ischemia in the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the early postoperative period after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods. We enrolled in this study 96 patients with ischemic heart disease who had undergone CABG. Patients were divided into 2 groups: (1) without postoperative AF (n=67, 80.6% men, mean age 57.9 +/- 7.3 years), (2) with early new-onset AF after CABG (n=29, 86% men, mean age 64.0 +/- 8.4 years). Results. AF occurred on average 4.9 +/- 3.8 days after surgery. Concentrations of interleukin-10, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, troponin were not significantly different between two groups both before and after CABG. At multivariate analysis the following parameters were related to development of AF in postoperative period: left atrial dimension >41 mm (odds ratio [OR] 3.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-5.8, p=0.0002), interleukin-6 level >68 pg/ml (OR 3.2, 95 /0C11.8-4.7, p=0.009), interleukin-8 level >9.5 pg/ml (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.4-6.7, p=0.009). Conclusion. Our research shows significant increase of interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 in patients with AF after CABG what confirms the role of inflammation factors in development of this complication.