People who are more fit have less atrial fibrillation and less strokes if they develop AF

Individuals who are more fit ( have a higher functional aerobic capacity) are less likely to develop atrial fibrillation (AF) and if they do develop AF they are less likely to have a stroke or die.

These are the conclusions from a long , large study from Mayo Clinic.See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29221502. ref 1

The final study cohort included 12,043 patients referred for a treadmill exercise test and were followed for a median time of 14 years (9-17).They were classified into four groups based on functional aerobic capacity (FAC) .Each 10% increase in FAC was associated with an decreased risk of incident AF ,stroke and mortality by 7 %.

Was the decreased risk observed in the more fit due to a direct physiological effect of exercise or a result of the reduction in the standard risk factors observed in the more fit individuals  or is that a distinction without a difference?

Folks who may be accused of exercising too much may find some satisfaction in the data revealing no level of fitness above which there was an increased risk of AF demonstrated in this study.In other words they found no "U-shaped curve" regarding level of exercise ( or more properly of fitness as this study did not measure exercise level) and AF risk.




1)Hussain, N, Impact of cardiorespiratory fitness on frequency of atrial fibrillation,stroke and all cause mortality. Am J Cardiol 2018, Jan 1, 121 41-49