What is the incidence of new-onset arrhythmias in patients following major non-cardiothoracic surgery?
New-onset arrhythmias occur in approximately 7% of patients after major non-cardiothoracic surgery and are frequently linked to other complications.
There was considerable heterogeneity in the literature regarding cardiac monitoring, types of arrhythmias considered and potential associations investigated, thus hindering interpretation. The available data suggest that new-onset arrhythmias affect about 7% of patients following major non-cardiothoracic surgery. These arrhythmias are often associated with other underlying complications.
Walsh et al. (2007) studied this question.