There is a lot of conflicting information about afib and exercise, to be honest. We’ve seen some studies, for example, which indicate that heavy athletic exercise can be a contributing factor for the disease.
However, this article says that post-menopausal women, at least, can lower their chances of an afib episode by choosing to engage in exercise. 10,000 women were studied.
There are some weaknesses in this report. There’s no mention of the type, frequency, duration, or the intensity of the exercise. These women could have been doing light water aerobics or running marathons–we just don’t know. The article just says that the women who were “most active” reaped the most benefits.
The study also did not ask or answer why the women reaped these benefits. I feel like that might have been good to know.
You then get the standard recommendation about talking to your doctor before beginning an exercise program. That’s pretty much a good bottom line anyway. You might reference this report and ask what sort of exercise program might give you your “best bets.” You might ask about yoga, too, since the effects of yoga on afib have been well-documented.
WHat do you think? Are you engaged in an exercise program right now? Is it light or heavy? Do you feel like it’s helped you manage your afib, or were you an athletic person whose afib might have triggered the disease? Do you feel this study was rigorous enough, or do you feel as though we needed a lot more information to get any real information out of all of this?
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