1. Ventricular Arrhythmias And Sports Activity Follow Up L. Stefani, G
Ventricular Arrhythmias And Sports Activity Follow Up L. Stefani, G. Galanti Sports Medicine Center University of Florence, Italy l
Results: 1)In the total sample analyzed, almost 70% of the VA were monomorphic, not early and isolated. 2) In the majority of cases a low-grade of ventricular arrhythmias as Lown classification are found, especially grade 1 and 2.
3) Complex and/or repetitive VA were found in Group C (35-40 years) . In fact they were at " high-level -Lown ", and therefore in the 4th to 4thb and 5th classes. 4) This aspect was independent from the sport practiced. No statistical differences were found among the sports.
5) During follow-up there was no significant variation, in terms of progression of VA, among the different sports , while a trend toward the augmented presence was found in older vs younger subjects .
6) A particular aspect regards the female group , where the major presence (40%) and more severe ventricular arrhythmias , were found
Purpose: Presence of ventricular arrhythmias (VA) in general population (5%) is normally age or disease related, while in athletes it is often independent from these aspects. The study aims to evaluate quality and quantity of VA in a large cohort of competitive athletes at different ages in a 6-8 year follow-up
Materials: From 2003 to 2013,from a 7112 dynamic ECG Holter database of an Italian Sports Medicine Center , 523 competitive healthy athletes (372 M and 151 F aged ) from soccer, rugby and water polo , were selected. They were divided in 3 different groups: Group A (15-25 yrs), Group B (25-35 yrs), Group C (35-40 yrs). Presence of palpitations or ventricular extrasystoles during step or treadmill test, in absence of structural heart disease, were inclusion criteria. Any possible association between the presence of VA with age, sport practiced and gender , if globally considered, were evaluated
Conclusions: The results found are in agreement with current literature .Ventricular extrasystoles are the most common arrhythmias in healthy athletes. From our experience the VA are functional and benign Data are suggestive of a low risk in the case of monomorphic and isolated form. Type of sport seems to be an independent variable at the origin of VA .
Female
Male
declaration of interest: no conflict of interest