Does leisure time physical activity and resting heart rate affect the risk of atrial fibrillation?
Moderate physical activity reduces the risk of atrial fibrillation, while vigorous activity and low resting heart rate may increase the risk, suggesting different pathophysiological mechanisms.
In this prospective cohort study, leisure time physical activity was associated with AF in a J-shaped pattern. Moderate physical activity was associated with a reduced risk of AF, whereas higher activity levels attenuated the benefits of moderate activity. Low RHR was a risk factor for AF. Our results support the hypothesis that moderate and vigorous physical activity may affect AF risk via different pathophysiological mechanisms.
Morseth et al. (Thu,) studied this question.