Correlation between Prolonged Aortic Cross Clamp and New Onset Cardiac Arrhythmia after Cardiac Surgery

Abstract

Objectives: Cardiac arrhythmia involves a wide range of abnormalities associated with heart rhythm and rate disorders. It mainly refers to an irregular rhythm of the heart. It has been demonstrated through various clinical studies that aortic cross-clamp time during cardiac surgeries are independent predictors of the morbidity and mortality, and prolonged cross-clamp (XCL) time have been linked to the low cardiac output. Present study was aimed to examine the correlation between the prolonged aortic cross clamp time (XCL) in low-risk patients and the incidence of cardiac arrhythmia during cardiac surgery within 48 hours postoperatively. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out from March 2020 to February 2021 including 100 patients who underwent elective cardiac surgery as low-risk patients. The duration of XCL and new-onset cardiac arrhythmia was monitored within the first 48 hours postoperatively. Result: This study revealed a significant relationship between new onset Arrhythmia and prolonged cross clamp time (more than 90 min). It also revealed a weak correlation (r = 0.26) between the aortic cross clamp time and new onset of cardiac arrhythmia after cardiac surgery (average XCL time 60 min). Therefore, this study suggested XCL time one of important predictors of cardiac arrhythmia postoperatively. Conclusion: Prolonged aortic cross-clamp time was found to minimally affect the incidence of arrhythmia in cardiac surgery within 48-hour post-operatively in low-risk cardiac patients. Patients with cross clamp time of over 90min were observed to be the most affected by the Arrhythmia with a high prevalence rate, which further buttress on the fact that extended/prolonged XCL affect cardiac arrhythmia after cardiac surgery.