title: Analysis of heart rate variability does not identify the patients at risk of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive method for assessing cardiac autonomic regulation. This study was designed to investigate whether preoperative short-term HRV analysis could identify the patients at high risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
  
  
  METHODS
  HRV measurement was performed preoperatively for 92 elective CABG patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty patients had AF postoperatively while 62 remained in sinus rhythm (SR). Logistic regression analysis identified two independent predictors for AF after CABG: increased age with an odds ratio (OR) 1.06 per year and higher body mass index (BMI) with an OR 1.18 per unit. However, no measured parameters of HRV analysis differed significantly between AF and SR groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The patients at high risk of AF after CABG cannot be identified by preoperative short-term HRV analysis performed during standardized physiological conditions. Advanced age and higher BMI were independent risk factors of AF after CABG in this study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital and Kuopio University, Kuopio, Finland. tapio.hakala@kuh.fi
authors.forename: Tapio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hakala
authors.forename: Esko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vanninen
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hedman
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hippeläinen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D005260:Female; D006334:Heart Function Tests; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors