title: Atrial fibrillation in the athlete.
abstract: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in athletes. Evidence supports that it occurs more frequently in endurance athletes than in nonathletes and that it can result in decreased performance or even ineligibility for athletes. Although there is no clear etiology of why the increase in athletes exists, three supported mechanisms include morphologic adaptation, autonomic alteration, and chronic systemic inflammation. Although treatment in athletes can be challenging, type 1C antiarrhythmics are accepted generally as a first-line therapy in addition to risk factor-based anticoagulation. Radiofrequency catheter ablation also has become a recommended treatment for symptomatic paroxysmal AF that is refractory to at least one class 1 or 3 antiarrhythmic medication and a reasonable treatment in symptomatic paroxysmal AF prior to initiation of antiarrhythmic therapy.
authors.affiliation: David Grant Medical Center, Travis AFB, CA 94534, USA. Marcusindc10@gmail.com
authors.forename: Antoin Marcus
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Alexander
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D056352:Athletes; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents