Abstract
Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is the most common complication of cardiac surgery that requires intervention and prolongs total hospital stay. For some patients, this tachyarrhythmia has important consequences including patient discomfort/anxiety, hemodynamic deterioration, thromboembolic events including stroke, exposure to the risks of antiarrhythmic treatments, longer hospital stay, and increased health care costs. The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines Committee (2011) recommend β-blocker therapy, in the absence of a contraindication, as the first-line therapy for POAF after cardiac surgery. Recent research demonstrates that nurse-led clinic care of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation is superior to usual care provided by physicians, however, there is huge research knowledge gap with respect to nurse-led management of acute POAF on postoperative surgical units.
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