Does elite endurance exercise increase the prevalence and incidence of atrial fibrillation compared to controls?
Elite endurance exercise is associated with a higher risk of atrial fibrillation, likely driven by exercise-induced cardiac remodeling and genetic susceptibility.
Despite having a favourable cardiovascular risk factor profile compared with controls, elite endurance athletes had a markedly higher prevalence and incidence of AF. These data suggest that exercise-induced cardiac remodelling and genetic susceptibility contribute to AF in endurance athletes.
Flannery et al. (Fri,) studied this question.