Review Articles

Atrial Fibrillation in Athletes

Goudis, Christos A. MD, MSc*; Ntalas, Ioannis V. MD†; Ketikoglou, Dimitrios G. MD, PhD‡

Author Information

From the *Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Grevena, Grevena, Greece; †Department of Cardiology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece; and ‡Department of Cardiology, Interbalkan Medical Center, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Correspondence: Christos A. Goudis, MD, MSc, Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Grevena 51100, Grevena, Greece. E-mail:[email protected].

Cardiology in Review 23(5):p 247-251, September/October 2015. | DOI: 10.1097/CRD.0000000000000049

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in athletes and may be associated with endurance sport practice. Atrial ectopic beats, chronic systemic inflammation, autonomic system alterations, anatomic adaptation, myocardial injury and illicit drugs seem to be implicated in the increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation in athletes, but clear evidence is lacking. Treatment of the arrhythmia is a challenging issue, as atrial fibrillation may impair athletic performances and deteriorate athletes’ quality of life. This review focuses on the epidemiology, possible pathophysiological mechanisms, and management of atrial fibrillation in athletes.

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Full Text Access for Subscribers:

Not a Subscriber?

Request Permissions

You can read the full text of this article if you:

Access through Ovid