Atrial fibrillation (AFib) remains the most common adverse event following cardiac surgery, affecting up to 40-50% of patients and contributing to increased morbidity and mortality. Ongoing research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital aims to characterize the incidence of poAF and evaluate whether wearable cardiac devices can improve AFib detection after patient discharge.

The study, Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation (poAF) after Cardiac Surgery: Bridging the Gap in Detection with a Wearable Cardiac Rhythm Monitoring Device, enrolled 100 patients who underwent open-heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Researchers compared in-hospital ECG results and data from Vivalink’s wearable ECG monitor for up to 14 days after discharge to detect poAF. In 24% of patients who developed poAF, the arrhythmia was first identified on the wearable monitor and had not been detected while hospitalized. In 80% of these cases, AFib was not diagnosed using standard modalities until the three-month follow-up. These initial results suggest continuous monitoring after discharge may improve the detection of arrhythmias and help inform faster intervention.

“It’s incredible we’re detecting arrhythmias within 14 days following discharge that otherwise wouldn’t have been caught until three months postoperatively,” said study author Jakob Wollborn, MD, MPH, cardiothoracic anesthesiologist and intensivist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “We’re learning more about how and when postoperative atrial fibrillation presents itself, so we can better inform treatment and monitoring guidelines to keep patients safe when they leave the hospital.”