Prophylaxis to Reduce Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation in Cardiac Surgery
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2012-02-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is a common postoperative complication of cardiac surgery, occuring
in approximately 25-30% of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients and 35-40% of heart
valve repair/replacement patients. Efforts to decrease the high rates of AF have not made
great inroads to the problem. The current standard of care is the use of preoperative and
postoperative beta blockers. We propose to compare the use of prophylactic oral ascorbic acid
with and without prophylactic oral amiodarone, in combination with oral beta blockers, for
the prevention of atrial fibrillation after open heart surgery. The hypothesis is that either
drug, or a combination of the two drugs, will be superior and safe when compared to beta
blockers alone.