ALDOsterone for Prediction of Post-Operative Atrial Fibrillation (ALDO-POAF)

Post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a major and frequent complication occurring after cardiac surgery, contributing to prolonged intensive care and hospital stays and is associated with several cardiovascular complications. The exact mechanisms and signaling pathways involved in the development of POAF seem to be multifactorial and remain to date incompletely understood. β-blockers and amiodarone are the first line preventive drugs but are partially effective and near 30% of POAF resist to these strategies. In this context, there is some evidence indicating that renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and Galectin-3 (Gal-3) share signaling pathways in the development of cardiac fibrosis and therefore could be very useful predictive biomarkers of POAF and potentially interesting therapeutic target to prevent POAF occurrence.

The investigators hypothesis is that preoperative plasma aldosterone levels and galectin-3 (Gal-3) expression (in plasma, right atrial appendage or epicardial fat) could be predictive of POAF in patients undergoing elective CABG surgery with preserved LVEF.