Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained atrial arrhythmia associated with high morbidity and mortality. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n3-PUFAs) might have antiarrhythmic properties. Alfa-linoleic acid (ALA) is a plant origin PUFAs. Atrial fibrillation occurred frequently in patients with pacemakers and associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke. Pacemakers can quantify and qualify atrial fibrillation occurrence. We hypothesized that ALA- PUFAs would reduce AF burden.
Methods: Forty eight patients with pacemaker (PM), were enrolled, and randomized to 1 gram of ALA (n=25) or a matched placebo (n=23) for 6 months. There were 31 men and 17 women, with an average of 70.25 ± 2.3 years. Gas chromatography was used to assess plasma fatty acid composition of samples collected on the day of randomization and at six months. We monitored the patients for 6 months to detect and quantify atrial fibrillation.
Results: The ALA dosing increased plasma ALA from 0.5% to 3.5% in the treatment group without change in the placebo group (P<0.001). The number of AF episodes and the AF burden were similar in both groups (30% n3-PUFAs versus 33% placebo, P=0.67).
Conclusion: Oral plant PUFA (ALA) supplementation for six month did not reduce AF burden in patients with implanted pacemaker.
