17 Jul Health Lifestyle Reduces Risk of Atrial Fibrillation
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Carl “Chip” Lavie MD, FACC FACP, FCCP
Medical Director, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention
Director, Exercise Laboratories
John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute
Professor of Medicine
Ochsner Clinical School-UQ School of Medicine
Editor-in-Chief, Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Lavie: This was a review of the literature on this topic.The main findings are that various lifestyle choices, including obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome/diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea , moderate and high alcohol intakes, and sedentary lifestyle but also very high exercise doses are all associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF).
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Lavie: Patients can reduce their risk of atrial fibrillation by keeping alcohol doses low (<2 drinks per day for large size people and only 1 per day for smaller body sizes),preventing obesity and especially severe obesity or by losing weight, especially > 10% on severe obesity, controlling blood pressure and sugar, treating sleep apnea, and performing regular physical activity/exercise but avoiding prolonged exercise.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Lavie: Future studies are needed to determine the optimal non-phamacologic programs to reduce atrial fibrillation risk.
Citation:
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Carl “Chip” Lavie MD, FACC FACP, FCCP (2015). Health Lifestyle Reduces Risk of Atrial Fibrillation
Last Updated on July 17, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD