Incidence and Demographic Characteristics of Patients with Post Cardiac Surgery Arrhythmias: A Single Center Retrospective Study

Abstract

Arrhythmias are a common complication following cardiac surgery, and can significantly affect patients’ outcomes. In some cases, post-operative arrhythmias may lead to hemodynamic instability, congestive heart failure, or even sudden cardiac death. Various types of cardiac surgery result in varying rates of post-operative arrhythmias, with more complex procedures causing higher rates. Risk factors for post-operative arrhythmias include advanced age, pre-existing cardiovascular disease, electrolyte imbalances, and the type of cardiac surgery. In this study, we aim to determine the incidence and demographic characteristics of patients who underwent cardiac surgery from November 15, 2020, till November 30, 2021, in a tertiary center in the Kingdom of Bahrain. All adult patients (18 years or older) who were booked for cardiac surgery during the study period were included. Patients with pre-existing documented arrhythmias were excluded from the study. Data was collected from patients’ clinical notes including demographic information (age, sex, and nationality), medical history, comorbidities, type of cardiac surgery, laboratory investigations, and mortality. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data, including frequency distributions, means, and standard deviations. Data was collected from patients’ clinical notes including demographic information (age, sex, and nationality), medical history, comorbidities, type of cardiac surgery, laboratory investigations, length of hospital stay, and mortality. Data was collected from patients’ clinical notes including demographic information (age, sex, and nationality), medical history, comorbidities, type of cardiac surgery, laboratory investigations, length of hospital stay, and mortality. A total of 161 patients were enrolled in the study with a mean age of 56.75 ± 1.68 years. Among the total enrolled population, 68.32% were male and 31.68% were female. The majority of patients (61.49%) had undergone urgent surgery. Approximately, half (49.07%) of the patients had coronary artery bypass surgery. Premature ventricular complexes (PVC), atrial fibrillation (AF), junctional rhythm, heart block, and atrial flutter were reported in 30.43%, 29.19%, 11.18%, 9.31%, and 8.07% of patient populations respectively. Pleural effusion (50.31%) and bleeding (19.25%) were common post-surgery complications observed among the patients. The mean oxygen saturation (sO2) of the patients on the day of arrhythmia was 95.67 ± 2.05%. Epinephrine/norepinephrine (71.43%) was the most used inotropic agent used after cardiac surgery. Cardiac surgery is associated with various arrhythmias. The two most common arrhythmias observed in patients after cardiac surgery are premature ventricular contractions and atrial fibrillation.