Background: Post-operative Atrial fibrillation (POAF) is the most common arrhythmia after thoracic surgeries, both cardiac and non-cardiac, increasing the risk of complications such as stroke, sepsis, and mortality.

Methods: This study examines the prevalence and associated factors of AF in patients undergoing non-cardiac thoracic surgeries. We reviewed patient records spanning over 9 years at Ayatollah Rouhani and Shahid Beheshti Hospitals in Babol. Data included age, gender, type of surgery, underlying diseases (diabetes, ischemic heart disease, hypertension), POAF, smoking, and alcohol consumption, analyzed using SPSS.

Results: Among 300 patients (227 male), 3% developed POAF. The average age was 47.96 ± 18.04 years, with AF incidence increasing with age (p = 0.008). Gender (p = 0.380), diabetes (p = 0.271), ischemic heart disease (p = 0.08), hypertension (p = 0.131), smoking (p = 0.260), and alcohol consumption (p = 0.77) showed no significant associations with POAF. Surgery type did not significantly correlate with AF incidence (p = 0.470). The average hospital stay was 10.34 ± 14.03 days (10.41± 14.23 days without AF and 8.11 ± 3.10 days with AF) (p = 0.097). POAF occurred on average 23.22 ± 9.18 days post-surgery.

Conclusion: The study concludes that age is a key factor in AF occurrence, highlighting the need for preventive measures in elderly patient’s post-thoracotomy.