Atrial fibrillation and long-term sports practice: epidemiology and mechanisms
Abstract
Background Lone atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia of the heart and is considered to have a higher prevalence in athletes, especially in endurance sports. Methods We conducted an extensive literature research in pubmed using the key words s ports and atrial fibrillation. Results The majority of studies have methodological limitations due to different inclusion criteria, such as age, type of sport, training level as well as statistical bias. The inconsistency of data is reflected by the considerable range of AF occurrence, spanning from 0.3 to 12.8 %. Conclusions We consider it reasonable to separate a study population into sedentary individuals, leisure time sportsmen/women and elite athletes. A distinction between the categories may be achieved through a combination of exercise history, capacity (e.g. MET hours/week, e.g. VO2max) and competitive results. Since there is a large span in the analyzed age groups (24-84 years), we claim that the focus should be laid upon the 45- to 65-year-olds due to a sound detection rate of true positives. Finally, we discuss ways to increase the detection rate of paroxysmal AF and comment on new therapeutic options.
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The prevalence of AF in competitive athletes ranges from 0.3% to approximately 13%, differing according to age and modality of exercise training.
“The prevalence of AF in competitive athletes ranges from 0.3% to approximately 13%, and differs according to the age and the modality of exercise training [13,25,26,27].”
From Atrial Fibrillation in Elite Athletes: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature (2024) · cites this paper as [26]
Cites
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Endurance sports is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation after ablation for atrial flutter
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Atrial Fibrillation in Athletes
Estes, N. A. M., & Madias, C. (2017) · JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacep.2017.03.019 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Atrial Fibrillation in Elite Athletes: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature
Kourek, C., Briasoulis, A., Tsougos, E., & Paraskevaidis, I. (2024) · Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease · doi:10.3390/jcdd11100315 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
- Authors
- Wernhart, S., & Halle, M.
- Affiliations
- TUM Klinikum (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Wernhart, S.
- Venue
- Clinical Research in Cardiology
- Published
- 2014-12-25
- Volume
- 104
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 369-379
- ISSN
- 1861-0684 (ISSN-L)
- 1861-0692
- OpenAlex
- W2018587803
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 0.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Clinical Research in Cardiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University Munich (Technical University Munich) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Effects of Exercise
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Atrial Fibrillation Management and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias
- Keywords
- lone atrial fibrillation, athletes, endurance sports, prevalence, elite athletes, sedentary individuals, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, detection rate, atrial fibrillation mechanisms, antiarrhythmic therapy
- MeSH terms
- Atrial Fibrillation, Germany, Humans, Hypertension, Risk Factors, Sports, Body Mass Index, Prevalence, Age Distribution, Sex Distribution, Early Diagnosis
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