Former American football players from the NFL league are six times more likely than other people to experience arrhythmias (heart rhythm disorder), said scientists from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

They examined 460 football players who had completed their professional career and found out that they have atrial fibrillation six times more often than their peers who were not fond of professional sports. Moreover, 80% of football players with arrhythmia did not even know that they had such a problem, because they did not feel any symptoms. They, as expected, did not receive treatment either.

Experts urge doctors to more closely examine the cardiovascular system of ex-professional athletes, especially those who participated in contact sports such as American football.

According to experts, atrial fibrillation detected at a relatively early age is more amenable to both conservative and radical treatment using radiofrequency ablation.