Rate control therapy for atrial fibrillation following coronary artery bypass surgery.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication of coronary artery bypass surgery (CABS). Because conventional antiarrhythmic therapy may cause proarrhythmia, a rate control approach to AF was evaluated in 59 patients post-CABS. The use of digoxin with or without verapamil for AF was associated with spontaneous conversion to normal sinus rhythm in 55 of 59 patients. Two to four weeks later, all patients were on digoxin and 12% were on verapamil, with two of four AF patients having converted to normal sinus rhythm and two others previously in normal sinus rhythm now in AF. A rate control approach to treating AF post-CABS resulted in over 90% of patients being in normal sinus rhythm for two to four weeks after the onset of the arrhythmia.