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 .
N-3 Fatty acids for the prevention of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass surgery: a randomized, controlled trial.
OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of preoperative and postoperative treatment with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFAs ) in preventing the occurrence of  atrial fibrillation ( AF ) after coronary artery bypass graft surgery ( CABG ) . BACKGROUND Postoperative AF is a common complication of CABG . There is growing clinical evidence that PUFAs have cardiac antiarrhythmic effects . METHODS A total of 160 patients were prospect ively r and omized to a control group ( 81 patients , 13 female , 64.9 + /- 9.1 years ) or PUFAs 2 g/day ( 79 patients , 11 female , 66.2 + /- 8.0 years ) for at least 5 days before elective CABG and until the day of discharge from the hospital . The primary end point was the development of AF in the postoperative period . The secondary end point was the hospital length of stay after surgery . All end points were independently adjudicated by two cardiologists blinded to treatment assignment . RESULTS The clinical and surgical characteristics of the patients in the two groups were similar . Postoperative AF developed in 27 patients of the control group ( 33.3 % ) and in 12 patients of the PUFA group ( 15.2 % ) ( p = 0.013 ) . There was no significant difference in the incidence of nonfatal postoperative complications , and postoperative mortality was similar in the PUFA-treated patients ( 1.3 % ) versus controls ( 2.5 % ) . After CABG , the PUFA patients were hospitalized for significantly fewer days than controls ( 7.3 + /- 2.1 days vs. 8.2 + /- 2.6 days , p = 0.017 ) . CONCLUSIONS This study first demonstrates that PUFA administration during hospitalization in patients undergoing CABG substantially reduced the incidence of postoperative AF ( 54.4 % ) and was associated with a shorter hospital stay
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 .