Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyCross-sectional study
Ventricular arrhythmias recorded on 12-lead ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring in healthy volunteer athletes and controls: what is common and what is not
- Cross-sectional study
- age- and sex-matched controls
Authors' conclusion
The prevalence and complexity of VAs at 24H ECG did not differ between athletes and sedentary controls and were not related to the type and amount of sport or sex. Age was the only variable associated with an increased PVB burden. Thus, no PVB pattern in the athlete can be considered 'common' or 'training related'.
Study context
- Population
- Healthy volunteer competitive athletes and sedentary controls undergoing 12-lead 24 h ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Participants
- 433 vs 261
- Exposure
- Athletes vs sedentary controls
- Athletesn = 433
- Controlsn = 261reference
- Outcome
- Prevalence, burden and morphology of PVBs, to define whether certain PVB patterns are 'common' and 'training related'
- Follow-up
- 24 h
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Athletes and controls with ≤10 premature ventricular beats (PVBs)/24 h
86%
No couplets, triplets or runs of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) >3 beats
>90%
Higher PVB number correlated with increasing age
P < 0.01
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
PVB morphology in athletes with >50 PVBs (n = 36)
- Infundibular
- 44%
- Fascicular
- 22%
Original publication
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it