Data from different observational trials have shown that treatment with statins significantly reduces the incidence of new-onset AF in the primary and secondary prevention .
The data are insufficient to recommend the use of statins before EC .
Finally , perioperative statin therapy may represent an important non-antiarrhythmic adjunctive therapeutic strategy for the prevention of postoperative AF
The aim of the present systematic review is to present an overview of the evidence linking atrial fibrillation ( AF ) , inflammation and oxidative stress , with emphasis on the potential of statins to decrease the incidence of different types of AF , including new-onset AF , after electrical cardioversion ( EC ) and after cardiac surgery .
Observational and clinical trials have studied the impact of statin therapy on new-onset , post-EC or postoperative AF .
Are lipid-lowering drugs also antiarrhythmic drugs? An analysis of the Antiarrhythmics versus Implantable Defibrillators (AVID) trial.
OBJECTIVES This study sought to evaluate the antiarrhythmic effects of lipid-lowering drug therapy as assessed by ventricular tachyarrhythmia ( ventricular tachycardia [VT]/ventricular fibrillation [ VF ] ) recurrences recorded by an implantable cardioverter defibrillator ( ICD ) in patients with atherosclerotic heart disease ( ASHD ) . BACKGROUND R and omized trials of lipid-lowering drugs suggest reduction of sudden death ( SD ) in patients with ASHD . Because SD is usually secondary to VT/VF , this observation suggests that lipid-lowering therapy has antiarrhythmic effects . METHODS The probability of VT/VF recurrence in patients with ASHD treated with an ICD in the Antiarrhythmics Versus Implantable Defibrillators ( AVID ) trial who did not receive lipid-lowering drug therapy ( n = 279 ) was compared with that in patients who received early and consistent lipid-lowering therapy ( n = 83 ) . In addition , all-cause mortality and cardiac mortality of all patients in the AVID trial with ASHD who did not receive lipid-lowering therapy ( n = 564 ) were compared with that of those who received early and consistent lipid-lowering therapy  ( n = 149 ) . RESULTS Using multivariate analyses , lipid-lowering therapy was associated with a reduction in the relative hazard for VT/VF recurrence of 0.40 ( 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] 0.15 to 0.58 ) ( adjusted p = 0.003 ) in the ICD subgroup . Lipid-lowering therapy was also associated with a reduction in the relative hazard for all-cause mortality of 0.36 ( 95 % CI 0.15 to 0.68 ) ( adjusted p = 0.03 ) and a reduction in the relative hazard for cardiac mortality of 0.39 ( 95 % CI 0.16 to 0.78 ) ( adjusted p = 0.04 ) in the larger study population . CONCLUSIONS In patients with ASHD who have received an ICD , lipid-lowering therapy is associated with reduction in the probability of VT/VF recurrence , suggesting that part of the benefit of lipid-lowering therapy may be due to an antiarrhythmic effect
Data from different observational trials have shown that treatment with statins significantly reduces the incidence of new-onset AF in the primary and secondary prevention .
The data are insufficient to recommend the use of statins before EC .
Finally , perioperative statin therapy may represent an important non-antiarrhythmic adjunctive therapeutic strategy for the prevention of postoperative AF
The aim of the present systematic review is to present an overview of the evidence linking atrial fibrillation ( AF ) , inflammation and oxidative stress , with emphasis on the potential of statins to decrease the incidence of different types of AF , including new-onset AF , after electrical cardioversion ( EC ) and after cardiac surgery .
Observational and clinical trials have studied the impact of statin therapy on new-onset , post-EC or postoperative AF .