학술논문
Arrhythmias and Adaptations of the Cardiac Conduction System in Former National Football League Players
Document Type
article
Author
Source
Journal of the American Heart Association. 8(15)
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Language
Abstract
Background Habitual high-intensity endurance exercise is associated with increased atrial fibrillation (AF) risk and impaired cardiac conduction. It is unknown whether these observations extend to prior strength-type sports exposure. The primary aim of this study was to compare AF prevalence in former National Football League (NFL) athletes to population-based controls. The secondary aim was to characterize other conduction system parameters. Methods and Results This cross-sectional study compared former NFL athletes (n=460, age 56±12 years, black 47%) with population-based controls of similar age and racial composition from the cardiovascular cohort Dallas Heart Study-2 (n=925, age 54±9 years, black 53%). AF was present in 28 individuals (n=23 [5%] in the NFL group; n=5 [0.5%] in the control group). After controlling for other cardiovascular risk factors in multivariable regression analysis, former NFL participation remained associated with a 5.7 (95% CI: 2.1-15.9, P