Physical Activity and Incident Atrial Fibrillation in African Americans
A Jackson Heart Study of over 4,000 African American adults found physical activity (PA) significantly associated with decreased atrial fibrillation (AF) incidence. During 13.8 years median follow-up, ideal PA reduced AF risk by 56% compared to poor PA. While intermediate PA showed an initial association, it became non-significant after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors, highlighting the strong protective effect of ideal PA in this cohort.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia. Physical activity (PA) is associated with decreased AF risk in several cohort studies. Previous studies have suggested that African Americans (AAs) may have lower rates of AF. However, none of the prior studies have a majority AA population or average participant age below 65.
Click here to access the article.