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Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
Atrial Fibrillation in Athletes
Christos A Goudis1, Ioannis V Ntalas, Dimitrios G Ketikoglou
1From the *Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Grevena, Grevena, Greece; †Department of Cardiology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece; and ‡Department of Cardiology, Interbalkan Medical Center, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Abstract:
Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in athletes and may be associated with endurance sport practice. Atrial ectopic beats, chronic systemic inflammation, autonomic system alterations, anatomic adaptation, myocardial injury and illicit drugs seem to be implicated in the increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation in athletes, but clear evidence is lacking. Treatment of the arrhythmia is a challenging issue, as atrial fibrillation may impair athletic performances and deteriorate athletes' quality of life. This review focuses on the epidemiology, possible pathophysiological mechanisms, and management of atrial fibrillation in athletes.
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