Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). It is associated with increased risk of morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stay, and hospital costs. We studied the effects of atorvastatin pretreatment on the prevention of AF after off-pump CABG. Twenty-seven patients without a history of AF were scheduled to undergo elective off-pump CABG. Patients with hypercholesterolemia, pretreated with atorvastatin (20mg/day) more than 4 days before the surgery (treatment group; n = 20), were compared with those without (control group; n = 7). Primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative AF. Secondary outcomes were in-hospital death, hospital stay, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events, and perioperative C-reactive protein (CRP) variations. The incidence of AF was significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group (25.0% vs. 71.4%; p = 0.03). No side effects occurred in the treatment group. There was no statistical difference in in-hospital death, hospital stay, the incidence of major adverse cardiac and/or cerebrovascular events between the two groups. CRP levels at postoperative day 5 were significantly lower in the atorvastatin group (3.4 ± 2.1 vs. 7.2 ± 4.2mg/dl; p = 0.029). Pretreatment with atorvastatin significantly reduced the occurrence of postoperative AF after off-pump CABG.
