Association of Atrial Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate Oxidase Activity With the Development of Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery

Association of Atrial Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate Oxidase Activity With the Development of Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery Young M. Kim, Hassan Kattach, Chandi Ratnatunga, Ravi Pillai, Keith M. Channon, Barbara Casadei Experimental evidence suggests that oxidative stress may be involved in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF); however, the relevance of this putative mechanism in patients undergoing cardiac surgery is unclear. We tested whether atrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activity and plasma markers of lipid and protein oxidation were associated with the development of post-operative AF in 170 patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Plasma markers increased after reperfusion but did not differ in patients who developed AF. Conversely, multivariate analysis identified atrial NADPH oxidase activity as the strongest independent predictor of post-operative AF, suggesting that this oxidase may be a key mediator of atrial oxidative stress leading to the development of post-operative AF.