Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common arrhythmia in older people, appears more and more frequently in younger people, in whom it can also cause serious consequences. This is confirmed by the experience of cardiologists and corroborated by a study just published in the USA.
This heart disease has become the most treated type of arrhythmia in Spanish hospitals and its growth is exceeding all expectations. “There is talk that there could be a real epidemic of AF in 10 or 20 years,” says Ignasi Anguera, director of the arrhythmia unit at the Bellvitge hospital.
AF is an arrhythmia, that is, an alteration of the heart rhythm. This condition, which increases the risk of heart failure and stroke, has historically been associated with age and it has been considered that for young patients it was not a factor in the development of other pathologies. A University of Pittsburgh Medical Center study with data from more than 67,000 people treated, a quarter under the age of 65, notes that these patients have a significantly higher risk of hospitalization for heart failure, stroke and heart attack. myocardium than people without atrial fibrillation.
The finding is alarming because more and more cases of AF are being detected in all age groups, especially among young people, confirms Ivo Roca, head of the arrhythmia section at the Clínic de Barcelona hospital. According to his experience, several factors explain this extension: “First of all, everyone is more alert to detect, because what was thought to be a benign arrhythmia, it is now seen that it can become serious. Because we have new detection instruments, we are screening younger patients every day. Surely there are no more cases, but now we detect them earlier.”
On the other hand, AF is part of the group of diseases produced to some extent by cardiovascular risk factors. “The diet has caused obesity to increase in our environment as it happened years ago in the USA among young people”, reasons the cardiologist.
According to experts, another phenomenon that explains the increase in the prevalence of AF among young people and young adults is smart watches, capable of taking electrocardiograms with great precision and sounding the alarm. Thus, quite a few cases of asymptomatic AF or with mild symptoms have been detected: palpitations or rapid heartbeats.
According to Dr. Anguera, the fact that AF affects a subgroup of young patients without other heart diseases (isolated atrial fibrillation) is a characteristic detail. The increase in cases is due to the ease of detection and the existence of well-defined triggering factors: high blood pressure, excessive alcohol consumption, sleep apnea, obesity or a sedentary lifestyle. Until a few years ago, other types of arrhythmias were more frequent, now AF is number one and is growing unabated. “The increase in incidence is always more important than expected, every time the forecasts are exceeded in the number of patients we are treating. It is said that it could become a real epidemic in 10 or 20 years”, says the cardiologist.
It has been proven that sport is cardioprotective, despite the fact that, paradoxically, practiced in excess can become a trigger for AF, and this excess is usually carried out by young people. “There is a subgroup of individuals who do high-intensity exercise for many hours in training and competition,” says Anguera. This practice causes an increase in heart rate which causes abnormalities in the heart muscle (fibrosis) and over time significantly increases the chances of developing an arrhythmia.
Faced with the increase in cases and the realization that even among young people who do not have other heart diseases they can trigger serious consequences, prevention, Anguera calls for: “It is important because young people tend to think that they are free from cardiovascular risks and there are a certain laziness They must have good blood pressure control, exercise regularly and moderately, control their weight and treat sleep apnea. It’s hard for young people to take charge, but they have to do it.”
