Higher Prevalence of Atrial Fibrillation in former NFL Players

"We have to be aware that athletes who participate in these kinds of sports, particularly retired NFL players, do have an increased risk of atrial fibrillation compared to the general population."
"Athletes need to make sure they continue to go for annual physicals where this can be checked out." 
"Most former NFL [National Football League] athletes with AFib were unaware of any symptoms and yet should have been taking blood thinners to prevent stroke. [The findings highlight] the importance of being vigilant and intermittently checking for AFib in this group."
"Although the study was observational, which means it identifies a relationship but does not prove cause and effect, the prolonged strength training involved in American football may increase heart chamber size and wall thickness, which can alter heart rhythms and electrical signals in the heart."
“It’s known that endurance athletes - the elite ones who are middle aged and have done it for many years - are at increased risk. This is the first time this has been looked at in strength-type sports."
"For the majority of people, the benefits of both aerobic exercise, such as walking, and strength training, such as working with weights, is strongly linked to a healthier heart, and this study should not discourage people from being physically active."
"Mild to moderate exercise reduces the risk of atrial fibrillation for most people."
Dr.Dermot Phelan, director, Sports Cardiology Center, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio

"[The new study is a] good initial observation, but we will have to have more objective evidence of [other health conditions] and risk factors plus long-term monitoring of atrial fibrillation for there to be a clear correlation."
"[One issue with the study is that] there are many other factors that can increase the incidence of atrial fibrillation, like age, smoking, alcohol use, steroid use, poor sleeping hygiene, and sleep apnea."
Dr.Johanna Contreras, director, heart failure, Mount Sinai St.Luke's, New York city

HealthDay

The atrial is the top chambers of the heart. They are caused to almost quiver instead of pumping blood when the electrical impulses that spark heartbeats fire erratically. This is atrial fibrillation, which can result in the pooling of blood and clotting. Should a clot in an atrium travel to a blood vessel leading to the brain, a stroke can occur. According to an estimate by the American Heart Association, over 2.7 million people in the United States experience atrial fibrillation (AFib); it is the most common irregular heart rhythm that can occur.

Long-term endurance sports activities like marathon running has been linked by studies to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation. It had occurred to Dr. Phelan and his research colleagues that a similar link might be discovered in sports requiring muscular strength, and they set about testing their hypothesis by comparing 460 retired pro-football players to 925 men who took part in the Dallas Heart Study, to represent the control group.

Both of the groups, the control group and the retired players,
 were middle-aged and roughly half from each group were African-Americans. Information was collected on participants' history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke and heart failure. In both groups this data originated with self-reports, and were not individually measured by the researchers. The finding was that the retired NFL players showed fewer cardiovascular risk factor including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. As well, most had lower resting heart rates.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The study conclusion was clear; former National Football League players were almost six times likelier to have atrial fibrillation than men of similar age who were not professional football players. 

• 5 % of former NFL players had AFib compared to 0.5 % of men in the control group.
• Other predictors for developing AFib were older age, white race and higher weight, all of which have been recognized previously as risk factors for AFib.
• The players group had overall lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease mortality, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, and had lower resting heart rates compared to the control group, yet the incidence of atrial fibrillation was still higher.
• Former NFL athletes were 8 times more likely to have pacemakers compared to the control group. Pacemakers are devices that are implanted in a person’s chest, usually to treat slow heart rates and other problems of electrical conduction in the heart.