Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• NODARI, Savina
• TRIGGIANI, Marco
• CAMPIA, Umberto
• MANERBA, Alessandra
• MILESI, Giuseppe
• CESANA, Bruno M
• GHEORGHIADE, Mihai
• DEI CAS, Livio

Titel

n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in the Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrences After Electrical Cardioversion: A Prospective, Randomized Study

Ist Teil von

• Circulation (New York, N.Y.), 2011-09, Vol.124 (10), p.1100-1106

Ort / Verlag

Hagerstown, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Erscheinungsjahr

2011

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) exert antiarrhythmic effects and reduce sudden cardiac death. However, their role in the prevention of atrial fibrillation remains controversial. We aimed to determine the effect of n-3 PUFAs in addition to amiodarone and a renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor on the maintenance of sinus rhythm after direct current cardioversion in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm trial in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation, with at least 1 relapse after cardioversion, and treated with amiodarone and a renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor. Participants were assigned to placebo or n-3 PUFAs 2 g/d and then underwent direct current cardioversion 4 weeks later. The primary end point was the probability of maintenance of sinus rhythm at 1 year after cardioversion. Of 254 screened patients, 199 were found to be eligible and randomized. At the 1-year follow up, the probability of maintenance of sinus rhythm was significantly higher in the n-3 PUFAs-treated patients compared with the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.62 [95% confidence interval, 0.52 to 0.72] and 0.36 [95% confidence interval, 0.26 to 0.46], respectively; P=0.0001). In patients with persistent atrial fibrillation on amiodarone and a renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor, the addition of n-3 PUFAs 2 g/d improves the probability of the maintenance of sinus rhythm after direct current cardioversion. Our data suggest that n-3 PUFAs may exert beneficial effects in the prevention of atrial fibrillation recurrence. Further studies are needed to confirm and expand our findings. Clinical Trial Registration- URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01198275.