Bariatric Surgery and the Risk of New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Swedish  Obese Subjects

BackgroundObesity is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation, which in turn is associated with stroke, heart failure, and increased all-cause mortality.ObjectivesThe authors investigated whether weight loss through bariatric surgery may reduce the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation.MethodsSOS (Swedish Obese Subjects) is a prospective matched cohort study conducted at 25 surgical departments and 480 primary healthcare centers in Sweden. The cohort was recruited between 1987 and 2001. Among 4,021 obese  individuals with sinus rhythm and no history of atrial fibrillation, 2,000 underwent bariatric surgery (surgery group), and 2,021 matched obese control subjects received usual care (control group). The outcome, first-time atrial fibrillation, was ascertained by crosschecking the SOS database with the Swedish National Patient Register on inpatient and outpatient diagnosis codes.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 19 years, first time atrial fibrillation occurred in 247 patients (12.4%) in the surgical group, and in 340 (16.8%) control subjects. The risk of developing atrial fibrillation was 29% lower in the surgery group versus the control group (hazard ratio: 0.71; 95% confidence interval: 0.60 to 0.83; p  
Source: Journal of the American College of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research