Clinical & Experimental Cardiology
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9880
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2155-9880
+44 1300 500008
Elissa Dyann Soriano
Jose R Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Philippines
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Clin Exp Cardiolog
Background: Student athletes are routinely screened by physicians prior to engaging in sports. In the Philippines, obtaining an electrocardiogram (ECG) is currently not a routine part of the sports clearance but has shown to detect potentially life threatening cardiac diseases that are responsible for the occurrence of sudden cardiac death. Objective: To determine the prevalence of ECG abnormalities in healthy male athletes aged 13-19 years in 2 high schools in Metro Manila. Research Design: A prospective cross-sectional study Methods: A questionnaire was given to the parents of the subjects to obtain information on the subjects� demographic data. Physical examination and medical history was done based on the AHA Guidelines for Pre-participation Cardiovascular Screening of Young Competitive Athletes. ECG was obtained from all subjects. Findings were classified as having no findings, normal-variant ECG changes and uncommon ECG findings for athletes. Results: Out of the 61 high school athletes enrolled in the study, 3% had completely normal ECG and 25% have normal-variant ECG changes for athletes, most commonly sinus arrhythmia (47%) and sinus bradycardia (16%). The most frequently seen uncommon ECG finding is T-wave inversion in the right precordial leads (69%). Six athletes were identified to be needing referral to a specialist: 1 with biventricular hypertrophy and left atrial enlargement on ECG and a PE finding of a systolic murmur, 2 athletes with prolonged QT and 3 athletes with complete RBBB; none of them had significant findings on history and physical examination. Conclusion: ECG abnormalities requiring referral to a specialist were detected in about 10% of the athletes who were generally asymptomatic. Adding electrocardiography to the pre-participation screening done in young athletes may increase the chances of detecting potentially fatal cardiac conditions and athletes with or without identifiable risk factors may benefit from it.
Email: sorianodyann@gmail.com