Abstract
Aim: The aim of this study is to support large-scale prevention programs fighting sport-related sudden cardiac death by providing a set of electrocardiographic features representing a starting point in the development of normal reference values for the pre-exercise phase. Background: In people with underlying, often unknown, cardiovascular abnormalities, increased cardiovascular load during exercise can trigger sport-related sudden cardiac death. Prevention remains the only weapon to contrast sport-related sudden cardiac death. So far, no reference values have been proposed for electrocardiograms of athletes acquired with wearable sensors in the pre-exercise phase, consisting of the few minutes immediately before the beginning of the training session. Objective: To perform an initial investigation of athletes’ electrocardiograms acquired by wearable sensors during the pre-exercise phase. Methods: The analyzed electrocardiograms, acquired through BioHarness 3.0 by Zephyr, belong to 51 athletes (Sport Database and Cycling Database of the Cardiovascular Bioengineering Lab of the Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy). Preliminary values consist of interquartile ranges of six electrocardiographic features which are heart rate, heart-rate variability, QRS duration, ST level, QT interval, and corrected QT interval. Results: For athletes 35 years old or younger, preliminary values were [72;91]bpm, [26;47]ms, [85;104]ms, [-0.08;0.08]mm, [326;364]ms and [378;422]ms, respectively. For athletes older than 35 years old, preliminary values were [71;94]bpm, [16;65]ms, [85;100]ms, [-0.11;0.07]mm, [330;368]ms and [394;414]ms, respectively. Conclusion: Availability of preliminary reference values could help identify those athletes who, due to electrocardiographic features out of normal ranges, are more likely to develop cardiac complications that may lead to sport-related sudden cardiac death.
Highlights
IntroductionPrevention remains the only weapon to contrast sport-related sudden cardiac death (SrSCD)
Regular physical activity has proven beneficial for cardiovascular health
Instead, screening of athletes already practicing sports consists of specific tests [9] regularly but not too frequently performed to identify cardiovascular abnormalities predisposing to sport-related sudden cardiac death (SrSCD)
Summary
Prevention remains the only weapon to contrast SrSCD. Pre-participation screening represents the first-line test for the diagnosis of heart disease in sport participants. It includes clinical and family history, physical examination, rest and stress 12-lead electrocardiographic test [8]. Instead, screening of athletes already practicing sports consists of specific tests [9] regularly but not too frequently (typically once a year) performed to identify cardiovascular abnormalities predisposing to SrSCD. Often unknown, cardiovascular abnormalities, increased cardiovascular load during exercise can trigger sport-related sudden cardiac death. Prevention remains the only weapon to contrast sport-related sudden cardiac death. No reference values have been proposed for electrocardiograms of athletes acquired with wearable sensors in the pre-exercise phase, consisting of the few minutes immediately before the beginning of the training session
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