Dietary fish oil and post surgical atrial fibrillation

Use of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to reduce post surgical atrial fibrillation: A prospective randomised study

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12606000134527

Enrollment

600

Registered

2006-04-18

Start date

2006-04-11

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Patients undergoing cardiac surgery for coronary artery bypass or valve repair/replacement are at risk of a number of complications. One of the most common complications is atrial fibrillation (AF), or abnormal contraction of the upper chamber of the heart, which occurs in about 30% to 55% of patients, depending on the type of surgery. While AF itself is not particularly dangerous, it does lead to increased length of stay in hospital, with associated costs, and also increases the risk of stroke. Patients suffering from post-surgical AF are generally prescribed additional medications, some of which can have unpleasant side effects. The purpose of this study is to determine whether fish oil given prior to surgery reduces the risk of developing AF after surgery. We also plan to investigate a number of mechanisms by which fish oil may exert its cardio-protective properties

Interventions

Dietary fish oil or high monounsaturated sunflower oil commencing 3 weeks prior to surgery. If surgery is postponed after commencing the intervention, then treatment will continue until surgery. There is no maximum period of the intervention. the dose is 15 ml/day and is supplied as bulk liquid in 500 ml bottles. subjects are instructed to take the oil on juice

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Parallel

Primary purpose

Prevention

Masking

Blinded (masking used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Elective coronary bypass surgery (CABG and/or valve repair/replacement surgery)• Informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Prior documented AF/AFL• Current anti-arrhythmic drug therapy or amiodarone use within the previous 3 months• NYHA class IV heart failure• MI < 2 weeks• Any condition which may affect the ability to ingest or absorb dietary fat (e.g. known active oesophagitis, gastric or duodenal ulceration, inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease, chronic pancreatitis, chronic liver disease, recent abdominal radiation therapy)• use of dietary supplements rich in n-6 or n-3 oils, e.g. fish oil, flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil• habitually consume > one fish meal / week.

Outcome results