SynthesisBMC cardiovascular disorders2017
Vitamin C for preventing atrial fibrillation in high risk patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC cardiovascular disorders, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06995586 (The Synergistic Action of Vitamins and Dietary Supplements in Patients With Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting for Improving the Quality of Healthcare Delivery.), which is not on this map. Cited by 46 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Synergistic Action of Vitamins and Dietary Supplements in Patients With Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting for Improving the Quality of Healthcare Delivery.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 88 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vitamin C deficiency can lead to pulmonary hypertension: a systematic review of case reports.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Guideline
- 2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines.Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2024Guideline
- Vitamin C may reduce troponin and CKMB levels after PCI and CABG: a meta-analysis.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2023Pooled it
- Risk and protective factors for atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery and valvular interventions: an umbrella review of meta-analyses.Open heart · 2022Pooled it
- Vitamin C May Improve Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction: A Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Vitamin C on Organ Function in Cardiac Surgery Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Sole and combined vitamin C supplementation can prevent postoperative atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Clinical cardiology · 2018Pooled it
- 2-Hydroxybenzylamine for Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation: A First-in-Human Clinical Pilot Trial.Circulation. Arrhythmia and electrophysiology · 2025Trial
- Abrupt termination of vitamin C from ICU patients may increase mortality: secondary analysis of the LOVIT trial.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2023Trial
- Intravenous vitamin C administration to patients with septic shock: a pilot randomised controlled trial.Critical care (London, England) · 2022Trial
- The effect of β-carotene on the mortality of male smokers is modified by smoking and by vitamins C and E: evidence against a uniform effect of nutrient.Journal of nutritional science · 2020Trial
- Circulating metabolomic profile and its association with atrial fibrillation and systemic inflammation.Heart rhythm O2 · 2026Article
- Are the UK's vitamin C recommendations evidence-based? A critical comment.The British journal of nutrition · 2026Review
- Sodium Alginate Attenuates HMolecular biotechnology · 2026Article
- Long Non-coding RNA Involved in the Pathophysiology of Atrial Fibrillation.Cardiovascular drugs and therapy · 2025Review
- What do we know about micronutrients in critically ill patients? A narrative review.JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition · 2025Review
- Preoperative and postoperative administration of vitamin C in cardiac surgery patients - settings, dosages, duration, and clinical outcomes: a narrative review.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2024Review
- Effect of Perioperative Oral Vitamin C Supplementation on In-Hospital Postoperative Medication Costs for Cardiac Surgery Patients: A Prospective, Single-Centre, Randomised Clinical Trial.PharmacoEconomics - open · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF), a common arrhythmia contributing substantially to cardiac morbidity, is associated with oxidative stress and, being an antioxidant, vitamin C might influence it.
methodsWe searched the Cochrane CENTRAL Register, MEDLINE, and Scopus databases for randomised trials on vitamin C that measured AF as an outcome in high risk patients. The two authors independently assessed the trials for inclusion, assessed the risk of bias, and extracted data. We pooled selected trials using the Mantel-Haenszel method for the risk ratio (RR) and the inverse variance weighting for the effects on continuous outcomes.
resultsWe identified 15 trials about preventing AF in high-risk patients, with 2050 subjects. Fourteen trials examined post-operative AF (POAF) in cardiac surgery patients and one examined the recurrence of AF in cardioversion patients. Five trials were carried out in the USA, five in Iran, three in Greece, one in Slovenia and one in Russia. There was significant heterogeneity in the effect of vitamin C in preventing AF. In 5 trials carried out in the USA, vitamin C did not prevent POAF with RR = 1.04 (95% CI: 0.86-1.27). In nine POAF trials conducted outside of the USA, vitamin C decreased its incidence with RR = 0.56 (95% CI: 0.47-0.67). In the single cardioversion trial carried out in Greece, vitamin C decreased the risk of AF recurrence by RR = 0.13 (95% CI: 0.02-0.92). In the non-US cardiac surgery trials, vitamin C decreased the length of hospital stay by 12.6% (95% CI 8.4-16.8%) and intensive care unit (ICU) stay by 8.0% (95% CI 3.0-13.0%). The US trials found no effect on hospital stay and ICU stay. No adverse effects from vitamin C were reported in the 15 trials.
conclusionsOur meta-analysis indicates that vitamin C may prevent post-operative atrial fibrillation in some countries outside of the USA, and it may also shorten the duration of hospital stay and ICU stay of cardiac surgery patients. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that is safe and inexpensive. Further research is needed to determine the optimal dosage protocol and to identify the patient groups that benefit the most.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.