Do Ventricular Arrhythmias in Athletes Subside Over Time?

作者：Fuchs Therese^*; Torjman Amram; Galitzkaya Luba; Leitman Marina; Pilz Burstein Rutie

来源：Israel Medical Association Journal, 2013, 15(9): 485-488.

• arrhythmias
• ventricular premature beats (VBP)
• exercise testing
• competitive sports

Background: Sudden death in athletes can occur during sport activities and is presumably related to ventricular arrhythmias.
Objectives: To investigate the long-term follow-up of athletes with ventricular arrhythmias during an exercise test.
Methods: From a database of 56,462 athletes we identified 192 athletes < 35 years old who had ventricular arrhythmias during an exercise test. Ninety athletes had >= 3 ventricular premature beats (VPB) (group A) and 102 athletes had ventricular couplets or non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) during an exercise test (group B). A control group of 92 athletes without ventricular arrhythmias was randomly selected from the database (group C). Of the 192 athletes 39 returned for a repeat exercise test after a mean follow-up period of 70 25 months and they constitute the study population.
Results: Twelve athletes from group A, 21 from group B and 6 from group C returned for a repeat exercise test. The athletes reached a significantly lower peak heart rate during their follow-up exercise test (P = 0.001). More athletes were engaged in competitive sports during their initial exercise test than in the follow-up test (P = 0.021). Most of the athletes who had VPB and/or ventricular couplets and/or NSW during their initial exercise test had far fewer ventricular arrhythmias in the follow-up exercise test (P = 0.001).
Conclusions: Athletes engaged in competitive sports are more likely to develop ventricular arrhythmias during exercise. These arrhythmias subside over time when athletes are engaged in non-competitive sports.

• 出版日期2013-9