Wearable Cardiac Rhythm Monitoring Device for Detection of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation

This study evaluated the use of a wearable, patch-based cardiac rhythm monitoring device in detecting postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) among cardiac surgical patients within 30 days after hospital discharge.

From the SEARCH-AF (The Post-Surgical Enhanced Monitoring for Cardiac Arrhythmias and Atrial Fibrillation) CardioLink-1 trial, this study examined rates of POAF according to surgery type and the incremental value of continuous cardiac rhythm monitoring among patients who underwent valve surgery. The primary outcome was cumulative atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter lasting for ≥6 minutes detected by continuous monitoring or atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter documented by a 12-lead electrocardiogram within 30 days of randomization.

The primary outcome occurred in 8.2%, 13.5%, and 21.2% of patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), isolated valve surgery, and combined CABG and valve surgery. Relative to patients who underwent isolated CABG, those patients who had valve surgery were more likely to experience POAF. A higher diagnostic yield was obtained when the patch-based cardiac rhythm monitor was applied in patients who underwent valve surgery.

Use of a wearable, patch-based cardiac monitoring device was an effective detection strategy among patients undergoing valve surgery, given their higher risk of developing POAF.