Is it safe to exercise if you experience atrial fibrillation, commonly known as irregular heartbeat? The short answer, according to researchers at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, is probably, but it depends on the type of atrial fibrillation and the intensity of the exercise. HealthDay reports that after reviewing 14 studies involving 380,000 people with atrial fibrillation, the researchers are persuaded that moderate and vigorous levels of exercise are safe for women with atrial fibrillation but vigorous exercise may be risky for men. They also found that exercise reduced the likelihood of episodes of irregular heartbeat. For women, the risk of an atrial fibrillation episode was reduced by 24 percent by regular moderate exercise, and by 15 percent with vigorous exercise. For men, moderate exercise reduced the risk of an atrial fibrillation episode by 19 percent, but vigorous exercise raised the risk by 90 percent. Strange. But true.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Monday, April 21, 2025
thanks for the article. I had afib before now I know i have it again.I work out 5 days a week and now have to really cut down the time on the elliptical machine. and really have to do more of the treadmill and that’s now at a real low setting
The article was unclear about exercise while experiencing an a-fib attack. I find it hard to walk aggressively when I have an attack, yet need to try to do so for other health reasons. I think the author indicated that it is not dangerous to exercise while experiencing an attack, but I am not sure. My doctor has told me to take it easy during the actual a-fib episodes.