NFL players experience higher rates of atrial fibrillation 

Here’s more news on the health of professional athletes, this time about football players. A new study finds that NFL players have a higher chance of having atrial fibrillation, a condition characterized by an irregular heartbeat. The irregularity could in turn lead to blood clots, strokes, and other serious problems. Scientists looked at 460 former NFL athletes and found that compared to a control group enrolled in a heart study, 5% of the athletes had atrial fibrillation compared to 0.5% of the control group. After controlling for other cardiovascular risks, former players were almost six times more likely to have atrial fibrillation. Previous research has suggested an increased chance of atrial fibrillation in those who do prolonged endurance exercise; more research is needed to tease out the link in NFL players.