Supraventricular Arrhythmias in Athletes: Basic Mechanisms and New Directions

Abstract

Athletes are prone to supraventricular rhythm disturbances including sinus bradycardia, heart block, and atrial fibrillation. Mechanistically, this is attributed to high vagal tone and cardiac electrical and structural remodeling. Here, we consider the supporting evidence for these three pro-arrhythmic mechanisms in athletic human cohorts and animal models, featuring current controversies, emerging data, and future directions of relevance to the translational research agenda.

Keywords: arrhythmias; athletes; electrophysiology; microRNAs; vagal tone.