Hello Vince,
I had an ATRIAL Firbrilation event 3 days after my AVR surgery which was treated with a Digoxin protocol (2 injections and a pill). The nurse got nervous when I hadn't converted after the pill and sent me back to CICU. By the time I got to CICU, I had converted and the nurse there wondered why I was sent back
As long as A-Fib converts back to a normal sinus rhythm (NSR) in a reasonably short time (day or two?), it is not considered serious (or life threatening).
I had two more A-Fib events about 12 weeks post op, two days apart. When the first of those hit, I went to the ER where they basically let me lay around while on a monitor in the ER. Once it converted, they sent me home. When the second one hit, I took an extra (small) dose (25 mg) of Toprol XL and waited for it to convert, which it did in about 3 hours.
Some cardiologists like to prescribe Amiodarone for A-Fib which controls it quite well. Since Amiodarone can have some serious side effects in high doses over a prolonged time, I asked for a more conservative approach and my cardiologist told me to increase my Beta Blocker (Toprol XL) from 25 to 50 or even 75 mg while monitoring my Blood Pressure to ensure that I was never lower than 105 / xx. I've been taking 50 mg for the last 5 weeks and have had NO more occurances of A-Fib.
I was also borderline anemic, but from what I can tell, they did not give me any blood. I suspect this may have prolonged my recovery and accounted for some of my post-op 'symptoms'.
Bottom Line: These are common and treatable post op conditions. Sounds like you dad will be OK in short order. Most likely, they will want to monitor him for a few days to be sure he's ready to go home.
Send him our best wishes.
'AL'