A practical predictor for postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients with coronary artery bypass graft surgery: P-wave peak time in lead-V1

Objectives: The study aimed to examine the relationship between P-wave peak time (PWPT) and postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) in electrocardiograms recordings before the coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Patients and methods: The retrospective study was conducted with 203 patients who underwent CABG surgery between January 2015 and January 2023. Patients were divided into two groups: those who developed POAF (n=40; 30 males, 10 females; mean age: 68.1±8.7 years; range, 18 to 85 years) and those who did not (n=163; 122 males, 41 females; mean age: 62.9±9.7 years; range, 18 to 85 years). The PWPT was calculated on the patients' preoperative electrocardiograms. Results: The PWPT in lead V1 (PWPT-V1) and age were identified as strong predictors of POAF in CABG patients. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, it was found that a PWPT-V1 value >41.5 had 79% sensitivity and 73% specificity for the prediction of the POAF (area under the curve=0.806, p<0.001). Conclusion: The PWPT-V1 can predict the development of POAF in patients undergoing CABG surgery. Thanks to this parameter, necessary prophylactic treatments can be performed in these patients before surgery. As a result, mortality and morbidity can be reduced in these patients.