Ranolazine for Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation after Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) remains a major risk after cardiac surgery and is associated with an increased risk of stroke, length of stay, mortality, and cost. Ranolazine, an anti-anginal drug, also has anti-arrhythmic properties. The present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of ranolazine in preventing POAF after cardiac surgery. We searched the literature for clinical studies published up to August 2017 with a pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. We identified four studies with a total of 754 patients of which 300 patients received ranolazine; there was a 14% decrease in POAF occurrence following cardiac surgery compared to 32% in the control group. Although ranolazine is an effective therapy in prevention of POAF, larger, multi-center, randomized trials are warranted.