Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyCohort study
Programmed ventricular stimulation for risk stratification in symptomatic athletes with nonischemic left ventricular scar and preserved ejection fraction
- Prospective cohort study
- consecutive enrolment
23 electrophysiological study (EPS)+ athletes received an ICD (18 transvenous, 5 subcutaneous); 16 EPS- athletes received an implantable loop recorder
Authors' conclusion
In symptomatic athletes with non-ischaemic LV scar and preserved LVEF, inducibility at EPS identifies a subgroup at higher risk of MAE, whereas non-inducibility is associated with a low event rate.
Study context
- Population
- Symptomatic athletes with non-ischaemic left ventricular (LV) scar and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (≥50%) undergoing EPS
- Participants
- 72 athletes
- Exposure
- Inducible vs non-inducible at EPS with programmed ventricular stimulation (PVS)
- EPS+n = 23
- EPS-n = 49reference
- Outcome
- Major arrhythmic events: sudden cardiac death, sustained ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation, or appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Event-free survival from major arrhythmic events (MAE) · 50 months
- 11 major arrhythmic events during median follow-up of 42 months: 9 among inducible athletes (all terminated by appropriate ICD therapy), 2 among non-inducible athletes (resuscitated, then ICD)
- EPS+ vs EPS-: P < 0.001
- log-rank test
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Arrhythmic deaths · median follow-up 42 months
- No arrhythmic deaths occurred during follow-up
Original publication
Programmed ventricular stimulation for risk stratification in symptomatic athletes with nonischemic left ventricular scar and preserved ejection fraction. Europace. Published 8 September 2026. doi:10.1093/europace/euag160
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it