title: Marine n-3 fatty acids are incorporated into atrial tissue but do not correlate with postoperative atrial fibrillation in cardiac surgery.
abstract: Postoperative new-onset atrial fibrillation (POAF) in cardiac surgery is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Because n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) have an antiarrhythmic effect, we hypothesized that a high content of marine n-3 PUFA in the atrial wall was associated with a reduced risk of POAF.
  
  
  
  Venous blood and tissue from the right atrial appendage were obtained from 50 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery. We determined the content of marine n-3 PUFA in atrial tissue and in plasma phospholipids using gas chromatography.
  
  
  
  The mean age of the patients (results available from 49 patients) was 66.0±10.4years, and 22, 14, 10 and 3 patients underwent coronary artery bypass surgery, valve, combined or other cardiac surgery, respectively. Eighteen patients (36.7%) developed POAF. Concentrations of n-3 PUFA in the atrial wall and in plasma phospholipids did not predict the development of POAF, but there were significant correlations between marine n-3 PUFA in atrial tissue and plasma.
  
  
  
  Levels of marine n-3 PUFA in the atrial wall was not associated with the risk of POAF following cardiac surgery, despite significant correlations of marine n-3 PUFA in the atrium and in plasma phospholipids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark; Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart Centre of General Hospital, Ningxia, Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia, PR China; Atrial Fibrillation Study Group, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Atrial Fibrillation Study Group, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; Unit of Clinical Biostatistics, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Søren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lundbye-Christensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Rikke B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Eschen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andreasen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark; Atrial Fibrillation Study Group, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark. Electronic address: jja@rn.dk.
authors.forename: Jan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Andreasen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D010743:Phospholipids
keywords: Atrial tissue; Cardiac surgery; Marine fatty acids; Plasma phospholipids; Postoperative atrial fibrillation