Risk of Thromboembolism and Bleeding After General Surgery in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Vink, Roel; Rienstra, Michiel; van Dongen, Carlo J.J.; Levi, Marcel; Büller, Harry R.; Crijns, Harry J.; van Gelder, Isabelle C.

doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2005.05.028

« Previous Next »American Journal of Cardiology
Volume 96, Issue 6 , Pages 822-824, 15 September 2005

Risk of Thromboembolism and Bleeding After General Surgery in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Roel Vink, MD
- Department of Vascular Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author: Tel: 0031-20-566-2171; fax: 0031-20-696-8833.
Michiel Rienstra, MD
- Department of Cardiology, Thoraxcenter, University Hospital Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Carlo J.J. van Dongen, MSc
- Department of Clinical Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Marcel Levi, MD
- Department of Internal Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Harry R. Büller, MD
- Department of Vascular Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Harry J. Crijns, MD
- Department of Cardiology, Academic Hospital Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Isabelle C. van Gelder, MD
- Department of Cardiology, Thoraxcenter, University Hospital Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

Received 12 January 2005; received in revised form 11 May 2005; accepted 11 May 2005. published online 08 August 2005.

We provide insight into the risk of perioperative thromboembolism and bleeding in patients who have atrial fibrillation, use anticoagulants, and undergo a surgical procedure. Ninety-four patients underwent 121 noncardiac operations during a mean follow-up of 29 months. There was a 3.6-fold increased risk for all bleeding complications within 1 month after surgery compared with the control period (95% confidence interval 1.05 to 12.0). No thromboembolic event occurred in the first month after surgery compared with 11 events in the remaining period (0.4% per month).