Impact of Left Atrial Function on Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation

Postoperative atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass greft operation (CABG) is major complication with a prevalence of 10-50%. Although the men mechanism is not known, in recent studies, age and left atrial function have been demonstrated as the most responsible factors. Velocity vector imaging (VVI) is a new modality which may give accurate and detailed information on both left atrial segmental and global function. In this study, our aim was to assess preoperative left atrial function by using three different echocardiographic modalities, VVI, tissue Doppler imaging and conventional echocardiography and evaluate the relation between the left atrial functions and the development of post-operative atrial fibrillation after CABG.