Atrial Fibrillation after Cardiac Surgery / Edition 1

by Jonathan S. Steinberg

Overview

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 aggressive prophylactic measures. Treatment of atrial fibrillation and its aftermath can also add days to the hospital stay of the cardiac surgical patient. In an era of aggressive cost cutting and optimization of utilization of health care resources, the financial impact of this arrhythmic complication may be enormous.
Experimental studies have led to a greater understanding of the mechanism of atrial fibrillation and potential precipitating factors in the cardiac surgical patient. Prophylactic efforts with beta-blockers, antiarrhythmic drugs and atrial pacing are being used, or are being investigated in clinical trials. New methods of achieving prompt cardioversion with minimal disruption of patient care, and prevention of the thromboembolic complications of atrial fibrillation, are also important therapeutic initiatives. This text is designed to aid health care professionals in the treatment of their patients in the recovery period after cardiac surgery, and to instigate additional research efforts to limit the occurrence of, and the complications following, this tenacious postoperative arrhythmia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441951120
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	12/01/2010
Series:	Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine , #222
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2000
Pages:	169
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.24(d)

About the Author

Steinberg, Jonathan S., MD (Columbia Univ Coll of Physicians and Surgeons)

Table of Contents

Experimental Animal Models of Atrial Arrhythmias and Their Relevance to Post-Operative Atrial Arrhythmias that Occur in Humans Unergoing Cardiac Surgery.- Understanding the Pathophysiology of Atrial Fibrillation from Clinical Observations.- Incidence, Timing and Outcome of Atrial Tachyarrhythmias After Cardiac Surgery.- Risk Factors for the Development of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation.- The Impact of Atrial Fibrillation on Hospital Length of Stay After Cardiac Surgery.- Prophylactic Value of Beta Blockers.- Antiarrhythmic Therapy to Prevent Atrial Fibrillation after Cardiac Surgery.- Nonpharmacologic Treatment of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation.- Therapeutic Options for Establised or Recurrent Atrial Fibrillation: Focus on Antithrombotic Therapy.- Atrial Fibrillation after Noncardic Surgery.

Editorial Reviews

Steinberg (Columbia U. College of Physicians and Surgeons) presents ten papers which explore the topic of atrial fibrillation (AF) as the most common arrhythmic complication after cardiac surgery, as opposed to other clinical milieu. Topics discussed include experimental animal models of AF, the unique features of the problem in postoperative conditions, evaluations of AF risk, the use of different drug prophylactic schemes in AF prevention, and the relation of AF occurrence in noncardiac patients. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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