The efficacy of n-3 PUFAs in preventing recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is controversial and their effects on inflammation and oxidative stress in this population are not known. This study examined the effects of high-dose marine omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) added to conventional therapy on the recurrence of AF and on markers of inflammation and oxidative stress. Patients with paroxysmal or persistent AF were randomized to n-3 PUFAs (4g/d) (n=126) or placebo (n=64) in a 2:1 ratio in a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study. The primary outcome was time to recurrence of AF. Secondary outcomes were changes in biomarkers of inflammation (serum interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, tissue necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)), N-terminal-pro-brain type natriuretic peptide (NTpBNP), and oxidative stress (urinary F2–isoprostanes (IsoPs)). Atrial fibrillation recurred in 74 (58.7%) patients randomized to n3-PUFAs and in 30 (46.9%) who received placebo; time to recurrence of AF did not differ significantly in the two groups (hazard ratio 1.20; 95% CI 0.76 - 1.90, adjusted P=0.438). Compared to placebo, n3-PUFAs did not result in clinically meaningful changes in concentrations of inflammatory markers, NTpBNP or F2-Isops. In conclusion, in patients with paroxysmal or persistent AF treatment with n3-PUFAs 4g/day did not reduce the recurrence of AF, nor was it associated with clinically important effects on concentrations of markers of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Despite some common risk factors for AF being more prevalent amongst blacks, AfricanAmericans are increasingly being reported with lower prevalence and incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) compared to Caucasians or whites. Contemporary studies have not provided a complete explanation for this apparent AF paradox in African Americans. Although many traditional and novel risk factors for AF have been identified, the role of ethnic-specific risk factors has not been examined. Whereas hypertension has been the most common risk factor associated with AF, coronary artery disease (CAD) also plays an important role in AF pathophysiology in whites. Thereby, elucidating the role of ethnic-specific risk factors for AF may provide important insight into why African Americans are protected from AF or why whites are more prone to develop the arrhythmia. The link between AF susceptibility and genetic processes has only been recently uncovered. Polymorphisms in renin-angiotensin system genes have been characterized as predisposing to AF under certain environmental conditions. A number of ion channel genes, signaling molecules and several genetic loci have been linked with AF. Thereby, studies investigating genetic variants contributing to the differential AF risk in individuals of African American versus European ancestry may also provide important insight into the etiology of the AF paradox in blacks.

Despite a greater burden of traditional risk factors, atrial fibrillation (AF) is less common among black than whites for reasons that are unclear. We have examined race- and gender-specific influences of demographic, lifestyle, anthropometric and medical factors on AF in a large cohort of blacks and whites. Among white and black participants in the Southern Community Cohort Study age 65 and older receiving Medicare coverage from 1999–2008 (n=8,836), we ascertained diagnoses of AF (ICD-9 CM 427.3). Multivariate logistic regression was used to compute AF odds ratios (ORs) associated with participant characteristics, including histories of hypertension, diabetes, stroke and myocardial infarction/coronary artery bypass graft surgery, ascertained at cohort entry. Over an average of 5.7 years of Medicare coverage, AF was diagnosed among 1,062 participants. AF prevalence was significantly lower among blacks (11%) than whites (15%; P<.0001). ORs for AF rose with age, were higher among men, the tall and obese, and among persons with each of the comorbid conditions, but the AF deficit among blacks compared with whites persisted upon adjustment for these factors (OR=0.64, 95% CI 0.55–0.73). The patterns of AF risk were similar for blacks and whites, although associations with hypertension, diabetes and stroke were somewhat stronger among blacks. In conclusion, these findings confirm the lower prevalence of AF among blacks than whites and suggest that traditional risk factors for AF apply similarly to both groups and thus do not appear to explain the AF paradox in blacks.