Adding less than 10 minutes a day of moderate exercise to your daily routine could help prevent an irregular heartbeat.
Researchers found even a modest increase in physical activity makes you less likely to develop atrial fibrillation.
“Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common arrhythmias in the United States, in the world. And it places individuals who suffer from it at risk for a number of conditions, in particular, heart failure and stroke,” explains Dr. Sean Heffron, Senior Author of the new study.
A team at NYU Langone compared a year’s worth of Fitbit data with medical records provided by more than 6,000 participants.
“And what we found was that getting just getting an hour or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity every week was associated with an 11% reduction in the risk of atrial fibrillation,” says Souptik Barua, PhD, Lead Author.
Dr. Sean Heffron adds while higher levels of exercise lower the risk even more, you don’t need to run a marathon to get the benefit.
“So moderate level physical activity is a brisk walk, doubles tennis, water aerobics, gardening, you know, activities that people probably don't even think of as exercise per se, but activities that are honestly accomplished as part of someone's daily life.”
The study participants were predominantly white females, so more research is needed to see if the findings hold true in a more diverse population.
Source: American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2024
Author Affiliation: NYU Langone Health
