Human study · Research · 7 Nov 2026
After adjustment, depression or anxiety lined up with a small rise in late atrial fibrillation in 44,338 people who had cardiac surgery, mainly in men
Source: European Heart Journal Open
What the research found
European Heart Journal Open published an observational register study on 7 November 2026. Malin Stenman, Veronica Jackson, and colleagues used Swedish registers for 44,338 people who had primary cardiac surgery from 2006 through 2020, with no atrial fibrillation beforehand. New atrial fibrillation was counted only if it was found more than 30 days after surgery. Before adjustment, that outcome occurred in 1,037 people (12 percent) who had preoperative depression or anxiety and in 5,036 people (14 percent) who did not. After adjustment the direction reversed: adjusted hazard ratio 1.09 (95 percent CI 1.01 to 1.17). In men the adjusted hazard ratio was 1.14 (1.05 to 1.25). In women it was 1.00 (0.89 to 1.13). The authors say the association sat mainly in men under 75. The paper does not report a separate result for people under 40. This is not a test of a mental-health treatment. DOI 10.1093/ehjopen/oeag197. Not medical advice.
Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.
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