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Heart surgery for athletes: does zapping faulty signals boost or bust performance?

NCT ID NCT07726056

Disease control Sponsor: University Hospital of Leuven Leuven Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jul 24, 2026 · Last updated Jul 28, 2026 · Updated 2 times

Summary

This trial investigates whether cardiac ablation — a procedure that destroys tiny areas of heart tissue causing irregular rhythms — can improve exercise capacity in endurance athletes with atrial fibrillation. One hundred athletes who train at least four hours per week will have their peak oxygen uptake measured before and after the procedure. The study aims to settle conflicting evidence on whether ablation helps or hinders athletic performance.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
cardiac ablation (pulmonary vein isolation) for atrial fibrillation
What this could lead to
If it works, this could clarify whether ablation helps endurance athletes with AF maintain or improve their exercise performance without the side effects of drugs.
What could go wrong
This is a relatively small, non-randomized study. Ablation carries risks like atrial stiffening or altered heart rate regulation, which could actually impair performance.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 100 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Mar 2026

Expected to finish

Dec 2032

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 80 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18-80 years * Participation in endurance sports (≥4 hours/week) * Diagnosis of atrial fibrillation * Capturing training data through commercially available platforms (e.g. Strava, TrainingPeaks, …) or willingness to start collecting training data and working with these commercially available platforms prospectively Exclusion Criteria: * No training data available * History of cardiovascular disease (including ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, primary electrical disorders, or congestive heart failure) * Active smoking

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

atrial fibrillation

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Atrial fibrillation (AF)

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    5 sites in 2 countries. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Jessa Hospital, Department of Cardiology

    RECRUITING

    Hasselt, Limburg, 3500, Belgium

  • St. Vincent's Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Melbourne, Australia

  • UZ Leuven

    RECRUITING

    Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, 3000, Belgium

  • Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen

    RECRUITING

    Antwerp, Antwerpen, 2000, Belgium

  • ZOL Genk

    RECRUITING

    Genk, Limburg, 3600, Belgium

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