Table 1.
Trial design and baseline characteristics of the 20 trials included in the meta-analysis
| Study | n | Population | Treatment arms | Duration | Specified end-point | Quality scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALLHAT; Haywood et al. [9] | 8582 (4327:4255) | Hypertensive people >55 years of age with at least one additional CVD risk factor | Intervention: pravastatin | 4.8 years | New onset AF/AFL | 1 |
| Control: usual care | ||||||
| Almroth et al. [10] | 234 (118:116) | Persistent AF following EC | Intervention: atorvastatin 80 mg day−1 | 44 days | The number of patients in sinus rhythm at EC and day 30 after EC | 5 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| ARMYDA-3; Patti et al. [11] | 200 (101:99) | Patients undergoing cardiac surgery | Intervention: atorvastatin 40 mg day−1 | 37 days | The occurrence of postoperative AF | 5 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| Caorsi et al. [12] | 43 (21:22) | Patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass | Intervention: pravastatin 40 mg day−1 | 9 days | The occurrence of postoperative AF | 2 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| Chello et al. [13] | 40 (20:20) | Patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery | Intervention: atorvastatin 20 mg day−1 | 3 weeks | The occurrence of postoperative AF | 4 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| Dernellis et al. [14] | 80 (40:40) | Patients with proven PAF | Intervention: atorvastatin 20–40 mg day−1 | 6 months | The number of patients resolved of AF | 3 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| GISSI-HF; Maggioni et al. [15] | 3690 (1855:1835) | Chronic HF patients without AF | Intervention: rosuvastatin 10 mg day−1 | 3.7 years | New-onset AF | 5 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| Mannacio et al. [16] | 200 (100:100) | 200 patients undergoing coronary surgery | Intervention: rosuvastatin 20 mg day−1 | 1 week | The occurrence of postoperative AF | 4 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| MIRACL; Schwartz et al. [17] | 3087 (1539:1548) | Acute coronary syndrome | Intervention: atorvastatin 80 mg day−1 | 16 weeks | Incidence or recurrence of AF | 5 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| Ozaydin et al. [18] | 48 (24:24) | Persistent AF after EC | Intervention: atorvastatin 10 mg day−1 | 92 days | The reccurrence of AF | 2 |
| Control: control group | ||||||
| Qian et al. [19] | 99 (49:50) | Permanent AF patients after prosthetic mitral valve replacement | Intervention: combination pharmacological therapy with low-dose oral amiodarone (2 mg kg−1), captopril (0.25 mg kg−1) and simvastatin (0.3 mg kg−1) daily | 1 year | Efficacy of AF conversion | 2 |
| Control: digoxin and a CCB, diltiazem, alone or in combination to control heart ventricular rate, 12 months | ||||||
| Song et al. [20] | 124 (62:62) | Patients after off-pump CABG | Intervention: atorvastatin 20 mg day−1 for 3 days before the surgery and 30 days after surgery | 33 days | The occurrence of postoperative AF | 3 |
| Control: control group | ||||||
| Spadaccio et al. [21] | 50 (25:25) | Patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery | Intervention: atorvastatin 20 mg day−1 | 3 weeks | The occurrence of postoperative AF | 5 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| SToP AF trial; Negi et al. [22] | 64 (33:31) | Patients with AF/AFL who underwent EC | Intervention: atorvastatin 80 mg day−1 | 12 months | The recurrence of AF | 4 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| Sun et al. [23] | 140 (71:69) | Patients undergoing elective off-pump CABG | Intervention: atorvastatin 20 mg day−1 | 37 days | The occurrence of postoperative AF | 5 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| Tamayo et al. [24] | 44 (22:22) | Patients undergoing CABG | Intervention: simvastatin 20 mg day−1 | 3 weeks | The occurrence of postoperative AF | 3 |
| Control: control group | ||||||
| Tsai et al. [25] | 106 (52:54) | Bradyarrhythmias and implantation of an atrial-based or dual-chamber pacemaker | Intervention: atorvastatin 20 mg day−1 | 1 year | The occurrence of AHE or AF episodes | 2 |
| Control: control group | ||||||
| Tveit et al. [26] | 114 (57:57) | AF patients undergoing EC | Intervention: pravastatin 40 mg day−1 | 9 weeks | The recurrence of AF | 3 |
| Control: standard therapy | ||||||
| WOSCOPS; Macfarlane & Norrie [27] | 6595 (3302:3293) | 6595 men with moderate hyperlipidaemia and no previous history of myocardial infarction | Intervention: pravastatin 40 mg day−1 | 4.9 years | The occurrence of AF | 3 |
| Control: placebo | ||||||
| Xia et al. [28] | 64 (32:32) | Persistent AF patients undergoing EC | Intervention: rosuvastatin 10 mg day−1 | 92 days | The recurrence of AF | 1 |
| Control: control group |
Abbreviations: AF, atrial fibrillation; AFL, atrial flutter; AHE,atrial high rate episodes; ALLHAT, antihypertensive and lipid-lowering treatment to prevent heart attack trial; ARMYDA-3, atorvastatin for reduction of myocardial dysrhythmia after cardiac surgery study; CABG, coronary artery bypass grafting; CCB, calcium channel blockers; CVD, cardiovascular disease; EC, electrical cardioversion; HF, heart failure; MIRACL, myocardial ischaemia reduction with aggressive cholesterol lowering study; PAF, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation; SToP AF trial, statin therapy for the prevention of atrial fibrillation trial; and WOSCOPS, West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study.