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Heart, Lung, and Vascular Surgical Centre, Mt Elizabeth Hospital, 3 Mount Elizabeth, #16-06 Mt. Elizabeth Medical Centre, Singapore, Singapore 269316
(Email: javas@magix.com.sg).
| The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below. |
Among patients undergoing mitral valve surgery, atrial fibrillation (AF) commonly occurs in approximately 40% to 60% of them [1]. Generally, the presence of this dysrhythmia is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes, such as stroke events. Although the benefit of rhythm control has not been shown to be superior to rate control among those with lone atrial fibrillation [2], the favorable effects of restoration to sinus rhythm among patients undergoing mitral valve surgery has been shown in several surgical trials [3]. In this issue, Fukunaga and colleagues [4] demonstrated a reduction in thromboembolic events, notably stroke, and a trend in improved long-term survival among patients whose rhythm has been successfully converted to sinus rhythm after undergoing mitral valve surgery. In this retrospective analysis, patients received different procedures for rhythm surgery, with the standard Cox maze performed in only 10 patients with the majority (ie, 104 patients) being treated with the Kosakai maze.
Related Article
Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2008 86: 1212-1217.
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