irregular heart rythm after cabg

[maennj]

Hi,

I'm little concerned of patient having afib after cabg surgery, he had afib in about 5 hours after the surgery and they had to shock him to convert him.Later next day afternoon he had another afib and converted back to sinus using medications and gave him blood. Later in night, his rhythm is not sinus again and he's on beta blockers again. So, 2 days passed and he had 3 afibs . I read it's common to have afibs after bypass surgery but I'm little bit concerned. My question is, from your experience with similar cases, how long till he recover and is it likely to have afibs again ? knowing he never had afibs before the surgery. Second question, if there is a chance to have afib, can it be controlled by using like antiarrhythmics ?

[maennj]

Hello

Thank you guys, your helpful responses comforted me. I was worried about how serious it is to have afib, now I know that it's controllable. I called the hospital and they said the rhythm is back to sinus. I will ask about his magnesium levels when I visit next time.

Thanks again.

[Brooke_38]

Studies indicate an incidence rate of 30-50%, of patients developing atrial fibrillation (AF) after CABG surgery. It continues to be one of the most common complications following surgery.

AF significantly increases complications, after bypass surgery. Prophylactic therapy could significantly reduce the incidence of AF. If it is lasting more than 48 hours, anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy based on individual risk assessment is recommended.

Prophylactic therapy is strongly recommended in high-risk cases. Beta blockers, sotalol, amiodarone and biatrial pacing significantly reduce the incidence of post-bypass AF. Also, many times a drop in magnesium levels is resopnsible. Some patients have been given IV Mag post-op.

I hope that this helps shed some light.

[Jerry_NJ]

I am not aware of any direct correlation between bypass surgery and AFib, but AFib is increasingly common as one ages.

There are drugs and invasive methods to convert AFib to regular sinus rhythm, these don't always work and they sometimes work for only a period of time, months or years, that is my experience with AFib.  It is also important to know that AFib isn't a serious threat to life, and some of us can live with it without too many physical restrictions.

The patient may convert back to sinus without any action.  In general use of an anticoagulant is recommended with AFib.