Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery

trial fibrillation (AF) after cardiac surgery is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and it has been reported that the rate of occurrence is 18-40%.1-5 Various causes have been studied, including advanced age, body mass index, obesity, left atrial dimensions, cardiac dysfunction, chronic respiratory failure, renal dysfunction, fluid balance, preoperative medications, inflammation, and fibrosis, but no definitive consensus has yet been reached and various factors are involved in its occurrence (Figure ).1-5 Article p 2303In this issue of the Journal, Chua et al 6 describe how they divided 265 patients undergoing cardiac surgery into 3 groups based on the results of preoperative glomerular filtration rate (GFR (ml • min -1 • 1.73 m -2 ): Group 1, ≥90; Group 2, 60-90; Group 3, <60), and they report that the incidence of postoperative AF (POAF) is higher in patients with lower renal function.Furthermore, they demonstrated a correlation between GFR AThe opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the editors or of the Japanese Circulation Society.