- Title
- Long-term omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation reduces the recurrence of persistent atrial fibrillation after electrical cardioversion
- Creator
- Kumar, Saurabh; Sutherland, Fiona; Morton, Joseph B.; Lee, Geoffrey; Morgan, John; Wong, James; Eccleston, David E.; Voukelatos, John; Garg, Manohar L.; Sparks, Paul B.
- Relation
- Heart Rhythm Vol. 9, Issue 4, p. 483-491
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2011.11.034
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2012
- Description
- Background: Persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with a high risk of recurrence after electrical cardioversion. Objective: We examined if long-term supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish oils commenced >1 month prior to electrical cardioversion and continued thereafter reduces recurrence of persistent AF. Methods: This was an open-label, randomized study of 178 patients with persistent AF >1-month duration. Participants were assigned to control group (n = 87) or omega-3 group (6 g/d fish oil; n = 91) and underwent cardioversion 1 month later. Concurrent antiarrhythmic use of sotalol or amiodarone was permitted. Fish oil was continued till return of persistent AF or a maximum of 1 year. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed for the primary end point defined as the recurrence of persistent AF. Results: Mean duration of fish oil intake was 56 days precardioversion and a total of 242 days in follow-up. Eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, the active components of fish oils, were 1.8-fold and 2.1-fold higher, respectively, in the omega-3 group compared with controls at the time of cardioversion (P <.001). At 90 days, 38.5% of the patients receiving omega-3 fatty acid supplement had AF recurrence compared with 77.5% of the controls (hazard ratio [omega-3 vs control] 0.38; 95% confidence interval 0.27−0.56; P <.001). Omega-3 intake was associated with a significant reduction in AF recurrence with or without concurrent antiarrhythmic drugs. Conclusions: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation commenced >1 month prior to electrical cardioversion and continued thereafter reduces the recurrence of persistent AF. Randomized controlled trials on long-term fish oil supplementation are needed to confirm these findings.
- Subject
- fish oils; omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; atrial fibrillation; cardioversion; amiodarone; sotalol
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1319106
- Identifier
- uon:23784
- Identifier
- ISSN:1547-5271
- Language
- eng
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