Fish Oil and Post-Operative Atrial Fibrillation

JACC: May 28, 2013

Post-operative atrial fibrillation (PoAF) is among the most common complications of cardiac surgery and substantially increases morbidity and healthcare costs. Despite decades of surgical, anesthetic, and medical advances, rates of PoAF remain largely unchanged. Experiments and animal models suggest that perioperative fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids) may reduce PoAF (1). We recently reported in a large, multinational randomized trial that perioperative fish oil did not reduce PoAF (2). Yet several other trials have evaluated this question, with mixed results. Most of these trials were small, and some were open label (i.e., neither double blind nor placebo controlled). Read more