Atrial fibrillation risk in athletes: It’s not the sport, it’s the mileage

Key Points

• This research investigates the relationship between exercise mileage and the risk of developing atrial fibrillation in athletes.
• Participants included endurance athletes, categorized by mileage.
• Risk assessment was performed using electrocardiograms to detect atrial fibrillation occurrences.
• Data analysis focused on mileage as a determinant of atrial fibrillation risk.
• Higher mileage athletes showed a significantly increased incidence of atrial fibrillation (10% vs. 2%, p<0.01).
• Endurance training duration was positively correlated with atrial fibrillation risk (HR 2.5, 95% CI 1.5-4.1, p<0.001).
• Mile accumulation over years indicated a threshold above which risk escalated significantly.