Exercising immune cells: The immunomodulatory role of exercise on atrial fibrillation.
Publication Year:
2021
PubMed ID:
34274371
Funding Grants:
Public Summary:
Exercise is great for heart health, improving how well the heart pumps and overall fitness. However, intense endurance training might increase the risk of a common irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation (AF), especially in highly trained athletes. Changes in nerve signals to the heart and remodeling of the heart’s upper chambers are thought to play key roles, but how the immune system contributes to this risk isn’t well understood. This review gathers the latest research on how exercise affects immune responses linked to AF and discusses how the term “lone AF” applies to athletes without other heart problems.
Scientific Abstract:
Exercise training is generally beneficial for cardiovascular health, improving stroke volume, cardiac output, and aerobic capacity. Despite these benefits, some evidence indicates that endurance training may increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), particularly in highly trained individuals. Among multiple mechanisms, autonomic tone changes and atrial remodeling have been proposed as main contributors for exercise-induced AF. However, the contribution of local and systemic immunity is poorly understood in the development of atrial arrhythmogenic substrates. Here we aim to update the field of immunomodulation in the context of exercise and AF by compiling and reconciling the most recent evidence from preclinical and human studies and rationalize the applicability of "lone" AF terminology in athletes.