A Randomized Trial of Atorvastatin for Reduction of Post-operative Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery. Results From the ARMYDA-3 (Atorvastatin for Reduction of Myocardial Dysrhythmias After Cardiac Surgery) Study
Atrial fibrillation, or heart flutter, is an arrhythmia that develops in 40 to 50 percent of patients who have cardiac surgery, and increases the risk of complications and lengthens hospitalization. New evidence from a randomized controlled study shows that pretreatment with atorvastatin one week before heart surgery significantly reduces the risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation, perhaps by limiting the body's inflammatory response to the surgery and to cardiopulmonary bypass.
"Inflammatory mechanisms may be involved in the development of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery," said Germano Di Sciascio, M.D., a professor and chairman of cardiology and director of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Campus Biomedico, University of Rome, Italy. "Our study suggests that statins can help prevent such arrhythmic episodes."
The ARMYDA-3 study enrolled 200 patients who were scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting, or repair or replacement of a heart valve. Patients were randomly assigned to one week's pretreatment with 40 mg of atorvastatin, or to placebo. Atorvastatin is most often prescribed for lowering blood cholesterol levels, but has also been shown to prevent inflammation.
Investigators found that atorvastatin reduced the rate of atrial fibrillation from 57 percent in the placebo group to 35 percent in the atorvastatin group, a highly significant difference. The benefits of atorvastatin were apparent even when taking into account patient characteristics that might have inflated the risk of atrial fibrillation, including advanced age and high blood pressure
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13-Mar-2006