Different characteristics of postoperative atrial tachyarrhythmias between congenital and non-congenital heart disease

Purpose The chance of encountering tachyarrhythmias has been increasing in adult congenital heart disease (CHD) patients with previous open-heart surgery, along with the improvement of their longevity. However, the characteristics of these arrhythmias remain to be elucidated. Methods We examined the characteristics of atrial tachyarrhythmias (ATs) in 26 consecutive CHD patients (M/F 17/9) referred for catheter ablation and compared them with 16 non-CHD patients with cardiac surgery (M/F 11/5). Results The CHD group was younger and had a longer period from cardiac surgery until the occurrence of ATs compared with the non-CHD group (44.8 ± 19.5 vs. 67.6 ± 12.5 years old, and 23.3 ± 13.2 vs. 6.3 ± 4.9 years, respectively, both P