Prevalence of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation and Impact to Nursing Practice—A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Atrial fibrillation is the most common clinically significant cardiac arrhythmia, and it might lead to heart failure, which prolongs the duration of hospitalization and consequently increases the cost of treatment. Thus, diagnosing and treating atrial fibrillation should be the first line of defense against further complications. This study aimed to determine the incidence rate of postoperative atrial fibrillation and correlation with cardiac surgery on heart valves. A specific aim was to determine the relationship between the prevalence of atrial fibrillation and socio-demographic features. Methods: The study has a prospective cross-sectional design. The questionnaire was anonymous, requesting socio-demographic information as inclusion criteria, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics methods. Results: The sample was 201 patients. χ2 test and t-test were performed where we found that the frequency of atrial fibrillation was higher in the groups that have had valve surgery compared to other cardiac surgeries (χ2 = 7.695, ss = 2, p = 0.021). Atrial fibrillation increased with the age of the patients, but the prevalence of atrial fibrillation was not correlated with body weight. Conclusion: The results of this this study show that atrial fibrillation was higher in the participants who had valve surgery compared to other cardiac surgeries. There was also an increase in atrial fibrillation in the older participants. The results of this study can help to improve nursing practice and the quality of care for cardiac surgery patients with regard to daily activities, or planning nursing care due to the patient’s condition.