Endurance Sport Practice and Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac rhythm disorder in clinical practice, with an estimated prevalence of 0.4% to 1% in the general population, increasing with age to 8% in those older than 80 years. The recognized risk factors for developing AF include age, hypertension, structural heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and hyperthyroidism. However, the etiology remains unclear in a significant number of patients younger than age 60 in whom no cardiovascular disease or any other known causal factor is present. This condition is termed lone AF, and may be responsible for as many as 30% of patients with paroxysmal AF seeking medical attention. Although regular physical activity clearly reduces cardiovascular morbidity risk, in recent years long-term endurance sport practice has been recognized as a risk factor for AF. However, the underlying mechanism explaining this association is unclear.