Abstract
Introduction
Sports seem to as old as mankind. Athletic performances, though are of proven long term benefits, tests the capacity of human mind and body. Arrhythmias that occur during or shortly after exercise are labelled as Exercise-induced arrhythmias. As early as 1927, Bourne, commented on the development of frequent ventricular premature beats (VPBs) during exercise in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD)1. Later, in 1932, Wilson et al reported the first case of ventricular tachycardia (VT) initiated during exercise2. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has sponsored 3 prior documents which addressed eligibility and disqualification criteria for competitive athletes with cardiovascular diseases: Bethesda Conferences 16 (1985), 26 (1994), and 36 (2005), used over a 30-year period. The arrhythmias in sportsmen can vary from benign and mild ones related to physiological adaptation at one end and unexpected, arrhythmia leading to fatal events during adolescence and young adulthood at other extreme end. Specially, right ventricle exposed to high strain during intense endurance activities, over a period, may lead to a pro arrhythmic state same as left ventricular cardiomyopathy. Athletes with documented rhythm disturbances should have individualized risk stratification and, usually, consultation with a cardiologist or electro physiologist. Ridiculously, patients with heart rhythm abnormalities many a times are told about contraindications in participation in sports, which may not be required. In this review we shall be discuss the relevance of various electrophysiological abnormalities to athletic participation.
References
- Bourne G: An attempt at the clinical classification of ventricular prema-ture beats, Q J Med (20):219–243, 1927.
- Burke AP, Farb A, Malcom GT, et al: Plaque rupture and sudden death related to exertion in men with coronary artery disease, JAMA 281(10):921–926, 1999.
- Levine BD, Lane LD, Buckey JC, Friedman DB, Blomqvist CG. Left ventricular pressure-volume and Frank-Starling relations in endurance athletes: implications for orthostatic tolerance and exercise performance. Circulation. 1991;84:1016–23.
- Mitchell JH, Haskell W, Snell P, Van Camp SP. Task Force 8: classification of sports. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2005;45:1364-1367.
- Mitchell JH, Hefner LL, Monroe RG. Performance of the left ventricle. Am J Med. 1972;53:481–94.
- Levine BD. Vo2,max: what do we know, and what do we still need to know? J Physiol. 2008;586:25–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2007.147629.
- Dawson CA. Role of pulmonary vasomotion in physiology of the lung. Physiol Rev 1984;64:544–616.
- Stickland MK, Welsh RC, Petersen SR, et al. Does fi tness level modulate the cardiovascular hemodynamic response to exercise? J Appl Physiol 2006;100:1895–901.
- Carl J. Lavie Exercise and the Heart - the Harm of Too Little and Too Much .Current Sports Medicine Reports. Volume 14 & Number 2 & March/April 2015
- Chan RH, Maron BJ, Olivotto I, Assenza GE, Haas TS, Lesser JR, Gruner C, Crean AM, Rakowski H, Rowin E, Udelson J, Lombardi M, Tomberli B, Spirito P, Formisano F, Marra MP, Biagini E, Autore C, Manning WJ, Appelbaum E, Roberts WC, Basso C, Maron MS. Significance of late gadolinium enhance-ement at right ventricular attachment to ventricular septum in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyo-pathy. Am J Cardiol. 2015;116: 436–441. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard. 2015.04.060.
- Zipes DP, Ackerman MJ, Estes NAM 3rd, Grant AO, Myerburg RJ, Van Hare G. Task Force 7: arrhythmias: 36th Bethesda Confer-ence: eligibility recommendations for competitive athletes with cardiovascular abnormalities. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2005;45: 1354–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2005.02.014
- Ricardo Stein, ScD, MD*, Anderson Donelli da Silveira, MD Card Electrophysiol Clin 5 (2013) 107–114 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ccep.2012.12.01
- Senturk et al. Cardiac pauses in competitive athletes: a systematic review examining the basis of current practice recommendations. Europace doi:10.1093/europace/euv373
- Furlanello F, Bertoldi A, Dallago M, Galassi A,Fernando F, Biffi A, Mazzone P, Pappone C, Chierchia S. Atrial fibrillation in elite athletes. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol.1998;9 suppl:S63–8.
- Grimsmo J, Grundvold I, Maehlum S, Arnesen H. Highprevalence of atrial fibrillation in long-term endurancecross-country skiers: echocardiographic findings andpossible predictors: a 28-30 years follow-up study. Eur JCardiovasc Prev Rehabil. 2010;17:100–5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/HJR.0b013e32833226be.
- Koopman P, Nuyens D, Garweg C, La Gerche A, De Buck S, Van Casteren L, Alzand B, Willems R,Heidbuchel H. Efficacy of radiofrequency catheterablation in athletes with atrial fibrillation. Europace.2011;13:1386–93. ttp://dx.doi.org/10.1093/europace/eur142.
- Abdulla J, Nielsen JR. Is the risk of atrial fibrillation higher in athletes than in the general population? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Europace 2009;11: 1156-9.
- Claessen G, Colyn E, La Gerche A, et al. Long-term endurance sport is a risk factor for development of lone atrial flutter. Heart 2011;97:918-22.
- Maron BJ, Levine BD, Washington RL, Baggish AL, Kovacs RJ, Maron MS; on behalf of the American Heart Association Electrocardiography and Arrhythmias Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology, Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Functional Genomics and Translational Biology, and the American College of Cardiology. Eligibility and disqualification recommendations for competitive athletes with cardiovascular abnormalities: Task Force 2: prepartici-pation screening for cardiovascular disease in competitive athletes: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. J Am Coll Cardiol 2015;
- Zipes DP, Link MS, Ackerman MJ, Kovacs RJ, Myerburg RJ, Estes NAM3rd; on behalf of the American Heart Association Electrocardiography and Arrhythmias Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology, Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Functional Genomics and Translational Biology, and the American College of Cardiology. Eligibility and disqualification recommen-dations for competitive athletes with cardiovascular abnormalities: Task Force 9: arrhythmias and conduction defects: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. J Am Coll Cardiol 2015;xx:–.
- Everything in excess is opposed to nature [Internet]. Hippocrates. Available from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/hippocrate118541.html.2014. Accessed June 23, 2014.
Corresponding Author
Kavita Tyagi
MS, DNB Anatomy, DNB Medicine, DNB Cardiology. MNAMS.
Fellow National Board Interventional Cardiology, Department of Cardiology,
Max Superspeciality Hospital Saket, Delhi 110017, India
Ph No. 08373987601, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.