Electrocardiographic and echocardiographic specificities of young mixed-race athletes from Reunion Island

Abstract

Electrocardiographic (ECG) and echocardiographic (ETT) characteristics of Afro-Caribbean athletes changed recommendations in sports cardiology. No specific data has been provided for mixed-race athletes so far. To compare ECG and ETT characteristics of adolescent mixed-race (M) athletes with those of Caucasian (C) and African (A) athletes. Between 12/2015 and 08/2017, 100 young athletes born in Reunion Island (70M, 18C, 12A) were included in our study. ECG and ETT were performed during a pre-participation screening before competitive sporting activity. M athletes showed no ECG specificity. The ‘Afro-Caribbean athletes’ repolarization’ was found in 5.7% of M athletes. M and A athletes demonstrated a greater wall thickening induced by exercise compared to C athletes [IVSd indexed at 5.2 ± 0.6 mm/m 2 and 5.3 ± 0.6 mm/m 2 ( P M/A = 0.363) versus 4.8 ± 0.6 mm/m 2 respectively ( P M/C = 0.011, P A/C = 0.024)]. M and C athletes featured larger left-ventricular cavity size compared to A athletes [LVIDd indexed at 28.8 ± 2.9 mm/m 2 and 28.9 ± 2.4 mm/m 2 ( P M/C = 0.887) versus 26.4 ± 2.5 mm/m 2 respectively ( P M/A = 0.011, P C/A = 0.013)]. Morphologic Left-Ventricular (LV) remodeling in mixed-race adolescent athletes is characterized by a greater LV cavity enlargement compared to A athletes and a significant increase in LV wall thickness compared to C athletes. ‘Afro-Caribbean repolarization’ is occasionally seen among these athletes.