Essentially, anyone can develop atrial fibrillation at any time for numerous reasons including you and I. That being said, the stressors on his body could have induced a state conducive to this, or it is possible that these are 2 separate problems that happen to occur around the same time, ie a person with a stroke who also has a UTI. One would not have necessarily induced the other in this case.
My dad (52M, no prior health issues except mildly high blood pressure, on a blood pressure med) is currently hospitalized for a pneumothorax after an injury. He broke several ribs, and one of them pierced his lung. The pneumothorax was small, so we assumed hed heal fine on his own, but yesterday he had to be transferred to the critical care unit because he had developed AFib in his sleep. Once his heart rate was stabilized, they put in a chest tube, because X-rays showed air and fluid. Hes been draining a lot of blood and fluids from the tube.They arent sure if the AFib was caused by the collapsed lung, but he has no history of irregular heartbeat or heart problems. Is this common after a pneumothorax?