By Dr. Florence Mouy, edited by Dr. Ahmed El-Medany
A recently published study by Ramos-Maqueda et al. has found that light to moderate intensity physical activity (PA) does not increase the risk of arrhythmias in patients with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM).
Sixty-three patients were included in this observational study, with 50% of participants having left ventricular predominant ACM. PA was continuously monitored for 30 days using accelerometers worn day and night by participants and compared with rates of rapid-rate non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (RR-NSVT), known to be a surrogate marker for sudden cardiac death in patients with ACM.
The study showed that there was no association between lifestyle PA and development of RR-NSVT in this cohort. No episodes of sustained ventricular tachycardia were detected in the 30-day period.
This study highlights the relative safety of light to moderate intensity PA in day-to-day life in patients with ACM. Previous studies have focused on assessing the arrhythmogenic activity of patients with ACM for competitive sports and regular exercise only. The results of this study therefore support clinicians to continue promoting light to moderate PA in patients with ACM. As patients in the study rarely engaged in activities of rigorous intensity, future studies are required to assess the arrhythmogenic activity of patients with ACM during higher intensities of PA.
Full study: https://heart.bmj.com/content/early/2023/03/12/heartjnl-2022-321824
