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Understanding the Increased Risk of Atrial Fibrillation in Athletes: a Case-control Study

NCT06844656 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 200

Last updated 2025-02-25

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Exercise is beneficial to heart health, however, there appears to be a 'U' shaped relationship where too much exercise may increase the risk of an irregular heart rhythm, called atrial fibrillation. Endurance athletes may have up to a 2.5-fold higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation than non-athletic controls.

The mechanisms behind this increased risk of atrial fibrillation are not the well understood. It is thought to be a mixture of enlarged heart chambers, low resting heart rate, genetic predisposition and possibly scarring in the heart. In this study, the investigators will investigate the electrical activity changes in the heart, using a high-quality electrocardiogram (ECG) and relate this to changes in the heart size measured by ultrasound and MRI. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing will determine fitness (V̇O2 max) and assess the heart's electrical activity during exercise.

This will be a case-control study where athletes with and without atrial fibrillation will be recruited. The investigators hope the results of this study can improve our understanding of atrial fibrillation in athletes by associating atrial fibrillation with structural and electrical differences which may aid the prediction of future atrial fibrillation development and help guide more athlete-specific treatment pathways.

Conditions

  • Atrial Fibrillation (AF)

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Leicester

    lead OTHER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-02-28
Primary Completion
2026-10-10
Completion
2026-10-10

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06844656 on ClinicalTrials.gov