Ricci Fabrizio, De Caterina Raffaele
Istituto di Cardiologia e Centro per gli Studi sull'Invecchiamento, Università Gabriele d'Annunzio, Chiete.
Recenti Prog Med. 2013 May;104(5):209-13. doi: 10.1701/1291.14278.
Recent evidence supports the existence of an association between the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the risk of atrial fibrillation. Anti-inflammatory drugs are widely used for the treatment of systemic inflammatory disorders, and chronic inflammation is a well-known risk factor for the development of myocardial fibrosis. The latter accounts for atrial inhomogeneities of conduction, thus triggering and perpetuating atrial fibrillation. Atrial inflammatory remodeling may therefore be responsible for the higher incidence of atrial fibrillation among patients assuming steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs because of an underlying inflammatory disorders. Alternative theories contemplate gastroesophageal reflux, which is extremely common during the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and may trigger atrial fibrillation, as mediating the above-mentioned association.
