More frequent electrocardiographic findings in athletes in the province of Cordoba

Abstract

Objective. To describe the most frequent and important electrocardiographic findings in athletes of different modalities in the province of Cordoba. Also to provide normality values for some reference electrocardiographic parameters. Methods. A total of 1,200 electrocardiograms (ECGs) at rest were analyzed according to the following criteria: rhythm abnormalities, conduction changes, QRS complex, repolarization changes and QT interval. In addition, they classified the ECGs into two subgroups: normal or with mild electrical disorders and clearly abnormal. Results. A high percentage of sinus rhythms and nonspecific disorders of the intraventricular conduction that affect the QRS (77.7 and 37.8%, respectively) were observed. On the other hand, the disorders that affect the PR interval showed a scarce percentage (4.2%) and those of repolarization 41.4%. Left ventricular growth was variable (25.7 to 54.4%) based on the measurement criteria used. A similar tendency was observed in the T wave changes (32.4 versus 18.3 versus 11.3%). Corrected long QT was found in 1.6% of the cases, always in men. The Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPW) was only found in 0.3% of the cases. There were 36.2% clearly abnormal ECGs. These results have also been stated in relation to age, gender and sport's modality. Conclusions. The repolarization disorder was the most frequent finding, followed by nonspecific disorders of intraventricular conduction. Greater frequency was observed in children and those practicing sports with predominance of moderate dynamic component. A high percentage of clearly abnormal ECGs was also found. In addition, it is derived that from the three criteria used for the analysis of the voltage changes (QRS), the proposal in this work represents a higher threshold for the classifications of positivity.