Evaluating High-performance Female Athletes’ Knowledge and Awareness of Atrial Fibrillation

Abstract

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a common cardiac arrhythmia with emerging evidence suggesting a high risk in athletes may exist, especially those engaged in vigorous physical activity. While substantial research has examined male athletes, limited data exists for female athletes, despite their growing presence in elite sports. AFib poses a health risk as it can progress without symptoms, potentially leading to severe complications, including heart failure and stroke. Athletes, accustomed to discomfort in their competitive pursuits, may delay seeking care even after retiring from sport, compounding the issue. Objectives: Therefore, we investigated the level of AFib-related knowledge in Canadian females, defined as high-performance athletes who had or were competing at a national or international level. Methods: Our online cross-sectional survey employed the 21-question Atrial Fibrillation Knowledge and Assessment Tool (AFKAT), with an additional question to assess awareness of an AFib diagnosis. Results: Participants were recruited through research websites and were mostly over 40 years old (45/52), Caucasian (50/52), university educated (39/53), from the sport of curling (41/52), and 62% (32/52) had competed at an international level. The mean knowledge score was 12.63 ± 5.79 out of 21 and was significantly different between international-level athletes (14.22 ± 4.38) when compared to national-level athletes (10.10 ± 6.91; p = 0.011). Conclusions: Varying levels of AFib knowledge were observed within this population, and our results importantly identified a discrepancy based on competition level, with international-level female athletes demonstrating higher AFib knowledge levels. This highlights the necessity for targeted educational interventions, to inform and increase athletes’ cardiovascular awareness of the potential risk of AFib.