GRK5 polymorphisms and Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a serious yet common complication after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. Previous study have identified multiple genetic susceptibility loci for POAF susceptibility after CABG, although some studies are under-powered. However, none of these studies have been conducted among Asians. In current study, we aim to systematically evaluated the previous positive findings for POAF susceptibility after CABG among Chinese population, using a large population-based, two-stage, case-cohort study. From a discovery cohort of 1,348 patients, a total of nine independent loci were evaluated. Six significant SNPs were then assessed in a separately collected validation cohort of 2,000 patients. After adjustment for clinical predictors of POAF, two variants in GRK5 gene (rs4752292, and rs11198893) were replicated with significance were replicated in the validation cohort. The ORs for each additional copy of minor allele were 1.32 (95% CI: 1.15–1.50, P = 5.82 × 10(−5)) and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.28–1.69, P = 1.16 × 10(−7)), respectively. In this two-stage independently collected cardiac surgery cohorts, genetic variations in the GRK5 gene are independently associated with POAF risk in patients who undergo CABG surgery in Asians.