Atrial arrhythmias after pulmonary thromboendarterectomy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Atrial arrhythmias (AAs) are common after cardiac surgeries including pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE). This study was done to identify patients at highest risk of developing post-PTE AA and their length of stay (LOS). METHODS We reviewed 521 consecutive patients referred to University of California San Diego (UCSD) for PTE and examined their demographics as well as their baseline pulmonary hemodynamics to determine risk factors for AA. RESULTS Overall, 24.2% of patients developed an AA after PTE. Patients who developed AA had a significantly longer Intensive Care Unit (ICU) LOS (median: 5 vs 3 days, P