NEW YORK, Nov. 11, 2024 — Increasing physical activity by an hour each week could decrease the risk of developing the most common type of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) by 11%, according to a new study.

Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, the study focused on atrial fibrillation, a condition where the heart’s upper chambers beat rapidly and irregularly instead of at a steady pace. If left untreated, this can lead to stroke, heart failure, and other complications. Although past studies have connected exercise to a reduced risk of this type of arrhythmia, almost all of these analyses relied on the participants’ often inaccurate estimations of their own activity levels, the authors explain.

To avoid this flaw, the current research team used data recorded from the fitness tracker Fitbit to objectively measure physical activity in over 6,000 men and women across the United States. The results indicated that individuals with higher levels of weekly physical activity were less likely to develop atrial fibrillation. Notably, the researchers emphasize that even moderate amounts of moderate-to-vigorous exercise, which can range from a brisk walk or cleaning the house to swimming laps or jogging, were linked to a reduced risk.

Specifically, study participants who averaged between 2.5 and 5 hours per week, the minimum amount recommended by the American Heart Association, exhibited a 60% lower risk of developing atrial fibrillation. Those who averaged more than 5 hours saw a slightly greater (65%) reduction.

“Our findings make it clear that you don’t need to start running marathons to help prevent atrial fibrillation and other forms of heart disease,” said preventive cardiologist Sean Heffron, MD, the study’s senior author. “Simply staying moderately active can, over time, accumulate into significant benefits for maintaining a healthy heart,” added Heffron, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Heffron also serves as the director of cardiovascular fitness and nutrition at NYU Langone’s Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease.

Heffron points out that in the only previous study that used activity monitors to investigate atrial fibrillation, researchers provided Fitbit-style monitors to the participants and tracked them for just a week, which might not accurately reflect their usual workout patterns. The new investigation, which the authors claim is the largest of its kind to date, assessed participants for a full year and included only those who already owned the devices.

A report on the findings will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association on Nov. 16.

For the study, the research team analyzed data gathered as part of the All of Us program. This National Institutes of Health initiative was designed to include Americans who have historically been underrepresented in medical research, such as racial minorities, women, and those who live in rural areas. For the program, hundreds of thousands of participants completed questionnaires, provided blood samples, and had their physical measurements recorded, with their health tracked over time.

From that group, the authors of the current study assessed physical activity in the subset (6,086 people) who used a Fibit device and allowed their Fitbit and electronic health records to be linked to their All of Us data. The team tracked activity information for a year as a baseline and then followed up for another five years to identify those who were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. The researchers also considered factors known to contribute to the condition, such as age, sex, and history of high blood pressure.

“These results highlight the value of Fitbits and similar monitors in medical research,” said study lead author Souptik Barua, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “By offering an objective method to measure exercise for years at a time, these tools can provide a deeper understanding of how different patterns of activity can affect health.”

For example, says Barua, the research team next intends to investigate whether working out in the morning or at night may have different effects on heart health.

He cautions that since many Fitbit owners in the study were college-educated white women, the investigation assessed a less-diverse group than the overall All of Us population. The program is now providing free devices to participants in underrepresented communities for future investigations.

Barua also cautions that the study was not designed to determine whether exercise alone directly reduced the risk of atrial fibrillation, nor to identify how that might occur or what other factors, such as income or educational status, might be at play in the reduced risk. However, the association between exercise “doses” and the development of the condition in the study participants was strong.

Study funding was provided by NYU Langone Health.

In addition to Heffron and Barua, other NYU Langone researchers involved in the study are Dhairya Upadhyay, MS; Aditya Surapaneni, PhD; Morgan Grams, MD, PhD; and Lior Jankelson, MD, PhD.

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SOURCE NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health