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Vecchiato M, Quinto G, Borasio N, Palermi S, Berton G, Battista F, Gasperetti A, Ermolao A, Neunhaeuserer D. The Fragmented QRS Complex in Lead V 1: Time for an Update of the Athlete's ECG? J Cardiovasc Transl Res 2024; 17:24-32. [PMID: 37906369 PMCID: PMC10896913 DOI: 10.1007/s12265-023-10448-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Differentiating between ECG patterns related to athletes' heart remodeling and pathological findings is a challenge in sports cardiology. As the significance of fragmented complex in athletes remains uncertain, this study aimed to assess the presence of fragmented QRS in lead V1 (fQRSV1) among young athletes and its association with heart adaptations and arrhythmias. Young athletes referred for annual pre-participation screening receiving a maximal exercise testing and transthoracic echocardiography from January 2015 to March 2021 were included. The study included 684 young athletes. The prevalence of fQRSV1 was 33%. Subjects with fQRSV1 had higher exercise capacity and indexes of right ventricular function and remodeling. Among highly trained athletes, the fQRSV1 group demonstrated also increased left ventricular wall thickness. No significant association existed between fQRSV1 and exercise-induced arrhythmias, even in highly trained athletes. The high prevalence of fQRSV1 in young athletes is associated with training-induced heart adaptations but not exercise-induced ventricular arrhythmias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Vecchiato
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy
| | - Giulia Quinto
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy
| | - Nicola Borasio
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy
| | - Stefano Palermi
- Public Health Department, University of Naples Federico II, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | - Giampaolo Berton
- Division of Cardiology, Ospedale Alto Vicentino, 36014, Santorso (VI), Italy
| | - Francesca Battista
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy
| | - Andrea Gasperetti
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy
| | - Andrea Ermolao
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy.
- University of Padova, Department of Medicine, Via Nicolò Giustiniani, 2, 35128, Padua, Italy.
| | - Daniel Neunhaeuserer
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy
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Wangüemert Pérez F, Wangüemert Guerra M, Caballero Dorta E, Acosta Materan CJ, Tormo Juarez JP, Godoy Camacho C, Cardenes Leon A, Segura Villalobos F, Medina Gil JM, Perez ML, García Salvador JJ, Mateos Cañero GO, Jiménez Rivero C, Martínez-Quintana E. Impact of face masks during the treadmill exercise tests. Med Clin (Barc) 2023; 160:101-106. [PMID: 35760609 DOI: 10.1016/j.medcli.2022.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE There is little literature on the use of face masks in a treadmill test (TMT) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of face masks during a TMT performed during the prepandemic (without face mask) and postpandemic (with face mask) era. METHODS Retrospective observational unicentric study of patients undergoing TMT. The inclusion criterion were being over 16years old and having performed at least one TMT in the prepandemic and postpandemic period. RESULTS One thousand six hundred fifty-five patients were included in the study. Nine hundred thirty-five (56.5%) were men and 720 (43.5%) women. The mean age was 57.3±14.9 and the mean follow-up time was 15.4 months. Fifty-three percent patients had arterial hypertension, 20% dyslipidemia, 12% diabetes mellitus, 8% smoking habit, 19% personal history of ischemic heart disease, 5% COPD, 8% bronchial asthma, and 8% atrial fibrillation. In almost all the variables studied in PE, including the appearance of ventricular arrhythmias, no significant differences were found, neither by age nor sex, except for the existence of a very slight decrease in exercise capacity with mask use in older patients (>65years). CONCLUSIONS The use of surgical or FFP2 face masks during the TMT did not affect functional capacity, blood pressure, heart rate, or increased ventricular arrhythmias.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Eduardo Caballero Dorta
- Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria Dr. Negrín, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Marta López Perez
- Cardiavant, Centro Médico Cardiológico, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España
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Vecchiato M, Baioccato V, Adami PE, Quinto G, Foccardi G, Slanzi G, Battista F, Neunhaeuserer D, Ermolao A. Early repolarization in adolescent athletes: A gender comparison of ECG and echocardiographic characteristics. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2022; 32:1581-1591. [PMID: 36086882 PMCID: PMC9826079 DOI: 10.1111/sms.14232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The early repolarization pattern (ERp) is an electrocardiographic finding previously associated with arrhythmic risk in adults. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of ERp in a group of adolescent athletes according to gender. Furthermore, potential associations with clinical, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic parameters are explored. METHODS In this cross-sectional study young athletes (age < 18 years) were consecutively enrolled during the annual pre-participation evaluation, undergoing also transthoracic echocardiography assessment from January 2015 to March 2020. RESULTS The prevalence of ERp was 27% in the whole population. Athletes with ERp were more frequently men practicing endurance sports. Women with ERp showed lower heart rate at rest, greater posterior, and relative ventricular wall thickness than those without ERp. Men with ERp presented higher systolic blood pressure at peak exercise, greater septal wall thickness, and indexed left ventricular mass than those without ERp. Both genders with ERp showed increased QRS voltage and narrower QRS duration. The ERp phenotype in men was more frequently notched with higher amplitude and ascending ST segment. Women's ERp presented more frequently a slurred morphology, especially in the inferior leads, and horizontal ST slope. No differences emerged in the occurrence of arrhythmias at rest and during maximal exercise test between groups, even considering higher risk phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS ERp is an ECG finding compatible with normal cardiac adaptations to training in young athletes. ERp demonstrated gender differences regarding phenotypes previously associated with increased cardiovascular risk, not showing any differences in arrhythmias during maximal exercise test.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Vecchiato
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of MedicineUniversity of PadovaPadovaItaly,Clinical Network of Sports and Exercise Medicine of the Veneto RegionPadovaItaly
| | - Veronica Baioccato
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of MedicineUniversity of PadovaPadovaItaly,Clinical Network of Sports and Exercise Medicine of the Veneto RegionPadovaItaly
| | - Paolo Emilio Adami
- World Athletics, Medical ManagerHealth and Science DepartmentMonacoMonaco
| | - Giulia Quinto
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of MedicineUniversity of PadovaPadovaItaly,Clinical Network of Sports and Exercise Medicine of the Veneto RegionPadovaItaly
| | - Giulia Foccardi
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of MedicineUniversity of PadovaPadovaItaly,Clinical Network of Sports and Exercise Medicine of the Veneto RegionPadovaItaly
| | - Giulio Slanzi
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of MedicineUniversity of PadovaPadovaItaly,Clinical Network of Sports and Exercise Medicine of the Veneto RegionPadovaItaly
| | - Francesca Battista
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of MedicineUniversity of PadovaPadovaItaly,Clinical Network of Sports and Exercise Medicine of the Veneto RegionPadovaItaly
| | - Daniel Neunhaeuserer
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of MedicineUniversity of PadovaPadovaItaly,Clinical Network of Sports and Exercise Medicine of the Veneto RegionPadovaItaly
| | - Andrea Ermolao
- Sports and Exercise Medicine Division, Department of MedicineUniversity of PadovaPadovaItaly,Clinical Network of Sports and Exercise Medicine of the Veneto RegionPadovaItaly
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Ismail S, Siddiqi I, Akram U. Heart rate estimation in PPG signals using Convolutional-Recurrent Regressor. Comput Biol Med 2022; 145:105470. [DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.105470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Cardiac Biomarkers and Autoantibodies in Endurance Athletes: Potential Similarities with Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy Pathogenic Mechanisms. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22126500. [PMID: 34204386 PMCID: PMC8235133 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22126500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The “Extreme Exercise Hypothesis” states that when individuals perform training beyond the ideal exercise dose, a decline in the beneficial effects of physical activity occurs. This is due to significant changes in myocardial structure and function, such as hemodynamic alterations, cardiac chamber enlargement and hypertrophy, myocardial inflammation, oxidative stress, fibrosis, and conduction changes. In addition, an increased amount of circulating biomarkers of exercise-induced damage has been reported. Although these changes are often reversible, long-lasting cardiac damage may develop after years of intense physical exercise. Since several features of the athlete’s heart overlap with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), the syndrome of “exercise-induced ACM” has been postulated. Thus, the distinction between ACM and the athlete’s heart may be challenging. Recently, an autoimmune mechanism has been discovered in ACM patients linked to their characteristic junctional impairment. Since cardiac junctions are similarly impaired by intense physical activity due to the strong myocardial stretching, we propose in the present work the novel hypothesis of an autoimmune response in endurance athletes. This investigation may deepen the knowledge about the pathological remodeling and relative activated mechanisms induced by intense endurance exercise, potentially improving the early recognition of whom is actually at risk.
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