697 ECG Features of Male and Female Elite Indigenous Australian Cricketers

Abstract

Many sports, including Australian cricket, now conduct pre-participation cardiac screening of elite athletes, including a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). Current athlete ECG interpretation criteria have substantially improved sensitivity and specificity, but differences in sex and ethnicity (other than Black African-American) are not discussed. To compare ECG features of elite male and female Australian indigenous cricketers to non-indigenous cricketers. Players were screened in accordance with Cricket Australia policy. Screening records were extracted from a complete online database were examined for all elite indigenous players (November 2014-March 2020, n=37) and non-indigenous players (as at 1 February 2019, n=688), male and female, aged ≥16 years. Indigenous status was determined according to self-report. ECGs were reviewed by sports cardiologists according to the International criteria, and comparisons were made according to sex and indigenous status. Review of ECGs from 42 (38% female) indigenous players and 808 (37% female) non-indigenous players showed that indigenous male cricketers had significantly more anterior T-wave inversion (V1-V2) (3.8% vs 0.0%, p<0.05) and significantly shorter mean QTc interval compared to non-indigenous males (391ms vs 402ms, p=0.03). No major differences were seen between indigenous and non-indigenous female cricketers. Data from a small cohort of indigenous male and female elite cricketers show some differences in ECG features compared to non-indigenous players. These preliminary findings may have important implications for ECG screening in indigenous athletes. If supported by larger studies, additional considerations based on ethnicity and gender may need to be reflected in guidelines for athlete ECG interpretation.