Objectives  This study sought to provide bedside evidence of the potential link between cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction and arrhythmia as reported in bench studies.

Background  Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a frequent complication of cardiac surgery. Underlying mechanisms of post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) remain largely unknown. Because cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction has been reported in clinical conditions with a high risk of POAF, we investigated whether a causal link exists between POAF onset and pre-operative function of cardiac mitochondria. Read more