2025 Volume 3 Issue 2 Pages 68-77
Objectives: Exercise therapy targets modifiable risk factors and reportedly prevents atrial fibrillation (AF). Gardening is a form of regular exercise that provides mental benefits. Thus, we hypothesized that gardening might be associated with a lower incidence of AF. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the association between gardening and the risk of AF onset.
Methods: Between August 2022 and March 2023, we surveyed 783 patients at risk of heart failure (HF) without a history of AF or HF-related hospitalization at a cardiology outpatient clinic (median patient age 73 years; 63% male). Gardening was defined as cultivating flowers, vegetables, or fruits for over a year. The presence, frequency, duration, years of experience, and scale were assessed. AF risk was estimated using the Cohorts for Heart and Aging in Genomic Epidemiology–Atrial Fibrillation (CHARGE-AF) score and categorized into tertiles. The association between gardening and CHARGE-AF score was analyzed using ordinal logistic regression, adjusted for confounders.
Results: Approximately 69% of the patients were engaged in gardening. Furthermore, 31%, 29%, and 40% of the patients had low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk CHARGE-AF scores, respectively. Gardening was inversely associated with CHARGE-AF score (odds ratio = 0.532, 95% confidence intervals [0.304–0.924]). Gardening extent demonstrated a trend towards lower AF risk, with significant associations only for years of experience.
Conclusion: Gardening may be associated with a lower risk of AF in patients at the outpatient cardiology clinic.
