In one study, LL-aVNS was administered to 26 patients after cardiac surgery, which inhibited the inflammatory response induced by cardiac surgery and reduced the levels of inflammatory markers such as TNF-α, interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and C-reactive protein, with a consequent decrease in the incidence of atrial fibrillation, when compared with the control group (Stavrakis et al., 2017). This evidence concerns the gene TNF and atrial fibrillation.