Discussion
The important findings from this study are as follows: (1) ERAT occurs in 49% of patients with AF after surgical ablation; (2) the predictors of ERAT include older age, history of CAD, persistent AF, larger LA size, longer CPB time, and reoperation for bleeding after cardiac surgery; (3) ERAT patients within the first three months after surgical AF ablation were more likely to have an increased incidence of LR than patients without ERAT; and (4) patients who developed ERAT within the first month had significantly better outcomes than those in whom ERAT occurred later.