Low heart rates predict incident atrial fibrillation in healthy middle-aged men
Abstract
Background Low resting heart rate (HR) has been associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) in athletes. We aimed to study whether low HR at rest or during exercise testing was a predictor of AF in initially healthy middle-aged men. Methods and results A total of 2014 healthy Norwegian men participated in a prospective cardiovascular survey, including a standardized bicycle exercise test in 1972 to 1975. During ≤35 years of follow-up (53,000 person-years of observation), 270 men developed incident AF, documented by scrutiny of health charts in all Norwegian hospitals. Risk estimation was analyzed with Cox proportional hazard models. Low exercise HR after 6 minutes exercise on the moderate workload of 100 W (HR100W) was a predictor of incident AF. Men with HR100W Conclusions Our data indicate that low exercise HR on a moderate workload is a long-term predictor of incident AF in healthy middle-aged men. Elevated baseline blood pressure substantially amplifies this risk. The present results suggest a relationship between increased vagal tone, high stroke volumes and incident AF, and particularly so in physically fit men.
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Exercise-related increases in sympathetic tone in endurance athletes could also be predisposing factors for AF.
“Exercise-related increases in sympathetic tone in endurance athletes could also be predisposing factors for AF [58,59].”
From Atrial Fibrillation in Elite Athletes: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature (2024) · cites this paper as [59]
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References 23 · Cited by 60
- Authors
- Grundvold, I., Skretteberg, P. T., Liestøl, K., Erikssen, G., Engeseth, K., Gjesdal, K., Kjeldsen, S. E., Arnesen, H., Erikssen, J., & Bodegard, J.
- Affiliations
- Oslo University Hospital (NO)
- From the Department of Cardiology, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevaal, Norway (I.G., P.T.S., K.E., K.G., S.E.K., H.A., J.B.); Center for Clinical Heart Research, Oslo University Hospital, Norway (I.G., H.A.); Faculty of Medicine (I.G., P.T.S., K.G., S.E.K., H.A., J.E.), Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway (K.L.); and Department of Cardiology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, Norway (G.E.).
- ORCID
- Venue
- Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology
- Published
- 2013-08
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 726-731
- ISSN
- 1941-3084 (ISSN-L)
- 1941-3149
- OpenAlex
- W1974945693
- Cited by
- 60
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 4.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Atrial Fibrillation Management and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Effects of Exercise
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias
- Keywords
- atrial fibrillation, resting heart rate, heart rate response to exercise, low heart rate, incident atrial fibrillation, middle-aged men, physical fitness, blood pressure, vagal tone, stroke volume, heart volume, cardiovascular risk prediction
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Atrial Fibrillation, Exercise Test, Heart Rate, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Middle Aged, Norway, Physical Fitness, Predictive Value of Tests, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Stroke Volume, Time Factors, Incidence, Multivariate Analysis, Chi-Square Distribution, Proportional Hazards Models, Kaplan-Meier Estimate, Arterial Pressure
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