Dosed Correctly, Exercise Improves Heart Flutter

Atrial fibrillation, sometimes called AF, atrial flutter, or heart flutter, is slightly more common in middle-aged men who undertake vigorous, prolonged exercise.

Boston researchers have now reported in the journal Circulation results from their study of AF in relation to moderate exercise.

Over 5,400 adults over 65 were followed for 12 years. None had AF at the start of the study, but after 12 years one in five had been diagnosed with the condition. The subjects were classified into five groups, or quintiles, according to the amount of physical activity they undertook. Those who walked at least 60 city blocks a week (the highest quintile) were 45% less likely to be diagnosed with AF than those in the lowest group (walking fewer than 5 blocks a week). Intermediate distances per week were linked with intermediate risk values.

The intensity of exercise was also important. The subjects who walked at 2 to 3 miles-per-hour had a lower risk than those who walked more slowly. On the other hand, vigorous exercise didn’t lower the risk of developing AF.

Overall, the scientists reckon that if older people walk at least 12 blocks a week at a modest rate (2 mph) they would prevent a quarter of all cases of AF in this age group. That’s worth considering, and, to my mind, acting on.