What dangerous disease athletes may face?

July 15, 2021  11:01

 Physical activity is beneficial to health and reduces the risk of developing a range of dangerous diseases. The authors of the new study assessed the likelihood of developing atrial fibrillation with intense exercise in various sports, the British Journal of Sports Medicine reported.

According to Medportal.ru, studies have shown that physically active people are less likely than passive people to develop heart rhythm disturbances, for example, atrial fibrillation. However, despite all the benefits of physical activity, it does not protect athletes from arrhythmias. Atrial fibrillation is also the most common among athletes, a new study found.

Scientists are not fully aware of the reasons for this phenomenon. They associate the risk of arrhythmia with the consequences of hard training: dilated atria, hormonal effects, chronic inflammation, and several other factors.

A new meta-analysis showed that the risk of atrial fibrillation in athletes is 2.46 times higher than in people for whom sports are not a profession.

At the same time, scientists found that in athletes with concomitant risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (diabetes, hypertension), this risk was not much higher than in people from the control group with the same risk factors. However, in healthy athletes, it was 3.7 times higher than in healthy participants from the control group.

Young athletes (under 55 years old) were 3.6 times more likely to develop atrial fibrillation than in the group of older athletes. The latter, in turn, suffered from this rhythm disturbance 76% more often than non-athletes.

The mixed load group (football, netball, rugby) had a higher risk of arrhythmia than those whose sport was associated with endurance (runners, swimmers, and others).

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