Statin therapy in the prevention and treatment of atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common adult rhythm disorder, and it is associated with a substantial rate of morbidity and economic burden. There is an increasing body of literature in which the authors investigated the pleiotropic effects of statin therapy in relation to AF. In this comprehensive review, we examine the mechanism of AF as well as potential mechanisms supporting statin use in both the prevention and treatment of AF. In clinical studies, statin therapy appears to be useful in the prevention of AF in patients with coronary artery disease and possibly congestive heart failure and in the prevention of perioperative AF in cardiac surgery. Its utility in patients with paroxysmal AF may be limited to the prevention of incident AF, but it does not appear to inhibit the progression of paroxysmal AF to chronic AF. Further large scale, randomized, placebo-controlled studies are needed in perioperative use in noncardiac surgery and in patients undergoing ablation or cardioversion of AF.