Atrial Fibrillation in Athletes

[elmbury]

Athletes with Atrial Fibrillation, or who are worried about developing it, may be interested in this vid (just out) where two very fit cyclists visited Glenfield Hospital in Leicester (where the British Heart Foundation have a MRI Facility) and get tested. There is then a good discussion on Atrial Fibrillation in athletes, and whether enlargement of the atrium in endurance athletes is why they are more prone to developing Atrial Fibrillation. The cardiology team are planning a study into athletes with intermittent atrial fibrillation to see if there is any evidence of them having had mini-strokes that haven't caused symptoms. the whole vid is worth a watch if you are an athlete interested in heart health, but the piece relevant to AF starts at youtu.be/cX4AUZEwyPI?t=587(Not working as expected?)

[Jajarunner]

I did my own study of afib in athletes and the evidence is so mixed. One study said only in runners, yet it's cyclists who are always in the news! The most up to date study said more afib in athletic men, less in athletic women! I can share the link if you are interested.Thanks for sharing the video x

[Czech_Mate]

Thanks for this link. I did a lot of cycling, including some very long distance stuff, but so did my brother (10 years older than me) who preceded me into AF, had a stroke in 2019 and died in 2020.So probably some contribution from this lifestyle, but also a family tendency. I am in the process of accepting all this as I know most people on here are in the process of coming to terms with their situation. I am finding ways to be active in a less extreme way. However I wouldn't have missed those years for anything, they have enriched a life that was never career orientated and given me wonderful memories that are always there for me as a type of medication.

[2learn]

Hi, often wondered about AF and exercise. There often seems people on this site who like myself exercised regularly, could run half marathons etc and then develop AF. Not athletes but people who are fitter than average and regularly exercise. I have no extra factors, non smoker, no family history etc etc. So is there some link with regular exercise and AF, it would be nice to know. Also other factor in my case is sleep apneoa, which is often undiagnosed, is that a contributor cause. Is everyone with AF tested for sleep apneoa, don't think so. Does AF association advocate testing ?

[pusillanimous]

My Cardiologist told me that one of his largest groups of patients with AF are endurance athletes. My son , at the age of 36 (he was a competition canoeist and white water rafter) had an ablation - he was diagnosed by a fellow canoeist who is a cardiologist, in fact, AF seems to be quite common among competitive canoeists. My son is now 53, the Cardio encouraged him to carry on with his sport , he does so, these days not so intensively, concentrating more of mountain biking and hiking, although he ran a standard marathon a few weeks ago. Despite regular checkups there has been no sign of AF since. although what the future holds , I do not know as we have familial AF - My father, myself and my 4 sisters are affected - but basically symptomless and diagnosed by chance - but in each case, diagnosis was only made when we were in our sixties or seventies (my eldest sister is 90 and is is extremely active).So whether my son we have a recurrence in the future who knows - he is on no medication.