AHA: More Moderate-to-Vigorous Exercise Tied to Lower Risk for A-Fib

THURSDAY, Nov. 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Higher amounts of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are inversely associated with a lower risk for incident atrial fibrillation, according to a study scheduled for presentation at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2024, held from Nov. 16 to 18 in Chicago.

Souptik Barua, Ph.D., from New York University in New York City, and colleagues investigated the association between MVPA levels and the incidence of atrial fibrillation. The analysis included one-year, free-living Fitbit accelerometry data from 6,086 participants in the All of Us study.

The researchers found that during five years, 55 individuals (0.9 percent) experienced incident atrial fibrillation. There was a lower risk for atrial fibrillation with more time spent in MVPA (hazard ratio, 0.89). There was a stepwise reduction for 151 to 300 minutes and >300 minutes of weekly MVPA. Among a subset of 3,847 participants with genomic data, the association persisted when adjusting for atrial fibrillation genetic risk score.

"Our findings highlight the important need to meet WHO MVPA guidelines (≥150 weekly minutes of MVPA) to minimize atrial fibrillation risk, and provides more evidence on the role of wearable devices in helping individuals stay on track to meet these guidelines," the authors write.

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