Abstract 16843: Black Race is Linked to Lower Occurrence of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation after Cardiac Surgery

Objective: To investigate differences in occurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardiac surgery between black and white patients, because genetic predisposition for non-surgical AF has been suggested and could also affect postoperative AF. Methods: Between 1995-2005, 21,458 patients of self-reported black or white race underwent CABG and/or valve surgery in sinus rhythm. To adjust for patient confounders, including socioeconomic position, we propensity-matched black with white patients and studied occurrence of postoperative AF and other postoperative arrhythmic and non-arrhythmic complications. Multivariable logistic regression identified predictors of postoperative AF in black patients. Results: Of 20,282 white patients 7,093 (35%) developed postoperative AF, compared to 255 (22%) of 1,176 black patients (p Conclusion: In this propensity-matched study black patients had lower occurrence of postoperative AF after cardiac surgery, when compared to whites. These results have novel mechanistic implications: genetic predisposition may play an important role in the development of AF after cardiac surgery.