Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
Athlete’s Heart or Heart at Risk? Cardiac Remodeling and Exercise-Induced Ventricular Arrhythmias in Elite Athletes
Authors' conclusion
Exercise-induced common VEBs in athletes seem to be associated with EICR and superior exercise performance and may represent a benign phenomenon, expression of the pathophysiologic consequences of EICR. Instead, uncommon VEBs were not related to the extent of EICR or the level of exercise performance, suggesting a nonphysiological nature.
Study context
- Population
- Olympic athletes who underwent comprehensive preparticipation screening, including exercise-electrocardiography test and echocardiographyathletes enrolled
- Participants
- 2,525 athletes
- Exposure
- Athletes with common ventricular ectopic beats (VEBs) vs uncommon VEBs vs without VEBs
- Common VEBsn = 135
- Uncommon VEBsn = 148
- Outcome
- Exercise-induced VEBs prevalence
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Athletes with exercise-induced VEBs
14.8%
Men versus women
16.7% versus 12.4%; P =0.002
Differences between sport disciplines
P =0.295
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
VEB pattern
- VEB pattern defined
- 283 (ie, 76%)
- Common
- 135 (48%)
- Uncommon, including polymorphic
- 148 (52%)
Prevalence of common VEBs by functional capacity (W/kg)
- I quartile
- 16.3.%
- IV quartile
- 40%
- Trend, common VEBs
- P < 0.0001
- Uncommon VEBs
- P = 0.140
Cardiac remodeling in athletes with common VEBs
- Wider right ventricular outflow tract
- P = 0.014
- Right ventricular end-diastolic area
- P = 0.016
- Greater left ventricular mass indexed
- P = 0.037
- Higher prevalence of eccentric remodeling
- P = 0.019
- No relationship with cardiac remodeling or exercise capacity in athletes with uncommon VEBs and in those without VEBs
Original publication
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it