Statistical analysis
To minimize between-group differences at baseline, 38 athletes that underwent first time CA for paroxysmal AF in our Institution and Non-Athletes were matched by sex, age (± 5 y) and year of CA (± 2 y). Continuous variables are presented as mean ± standard deviation, and they were compared using t test for independent samples. Non-normally distributed variables are presented as median and interquartile ranges, and they were compared with the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Categorical data were compared using χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate
The association of AF recurrences in the two groups were tested by multivariate Cox regression model and Kaplan Meier excluding any episode occurred in the first three months (blanking period). Log-rank tests were used to compare strata. All tests were 2-tailed, and P<0.05 was required for statistical significance. All analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC).