Abstract 14679: Electrocardiogram Findings From Athletic Adaptation and COVID-19 Infection in Collegiate Football Players

Abstract

Introduction: Improved criteria have enhanced the sensitivity and specificity of the 12-lead ECG to identify underlying cardiovascular conditions predisposing to sudden cardiac death or morbidity. However, the impacts of chronic high-intensity exercise and especially ethnicity on changes in longitudinal ECG remain unknown. Furthermore, given the ongoing pandemic, we must consider how COVID19 infection may impact ECG findings. We analyzed collegiate student athlete ECGs over time to determine whether longitudinal training, race, and post-COVID19 status impact the ECG findings with the goal of informing future interpretation criteria. Methods: We included twenty-two NCAA Division I football players from January 2018 to January 2021. Ten athletes contracted COVID19 during this period. We compared pre-season ECGs prior to the first and third years of athletic participation as well as any within 34 days after confirmed COVID19 infection. Heart rate, QRS duration, QT interval, and any International Criteria findings were identified. The ECGs acquired prior to the athlete’s first-year of participation served as the baseline for comparison for the third-year and post-COVID19 ECG. T-tests and two-sample z-tests were used as appropriate for statistical analysis. Results: Compared to matched first-year baseline, the QRS duration of post-COVID19 ECGs was significantly longer (102 ± 26 ms vs 100 ± 31 ms, p = 0.01, 95% CI 0.62-3.77), which was not seen when compared to matched third-year ECGs. There were no other significant differences between white and black athletes, or those of third-year ECGs compared to the matched first-year baseline. Conclusions: In this small cohort of 22 athletes, there was no significant change in heart rate, QRS duration, QT interval, or International Criteria classifications, including early repolarization and voltage, between first- and third-year ECGs of white and black athletes. Although the post-COVID19 QRS duration was significantly increased compared to first-year ECGs, the range was still within normal; there was no increase with respect to third-year ECGs. Further analysis of a larger sampling of athletes of different sexes and sports that also considers the impact of training on the post-COVID ECG is ongoing.