Skip Navigation

European Heart Journal 2001 22(6):504-510; doi:10.1053/euhj.2000.2247
Copyright © 2001 by the European Society of Cardiology.
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow References
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (21)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bianco, M
Right arrow Articles by Zeppilli, P
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bianco, M
Right arrow Articles by Zeppilli, P
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Does early repolarization in the athlete have analogies with the Brugada syndrome?

M Bianco, S Bria, A Gianfelici, N Sanna, V Palmieri and P Zeppillif1

Sports Medicine School, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy

Received March 28, 2000; accepted April 5, 2000

Abstract

Aim To re-examine the prevalence and presentation of early repolarization in athletes and to compare it with electrocardiographic abnormalities observed in patients with the Brugada syndrome.

Methods Electrocardiograms of 155 male athletes and 50 sedentary controls were studied. Early repolarization was considered present if at least two adjacent precordial leads showed elevation of the ST segment ≥1mm. Amplitude and morphology of ST elevation, the leads where it was present and the lead in which it showed its maximum value were analysed together with QRS duration, the presence of right ventricular activation delay, QT and QTc duration. Data were compared with those obtained by electrocardiograms of 23 patients with the Brugada syndrome.

Results Early repolarization was found in 139 athletes (89%) and 18 controls (36%, P≤0·025), being limited to right precordial leads in 42 (30%) athletes and 13 (72%) controls (P≤0·001). Only 12 (8·6%) athletes and one control (5·5%) with early repolarization had an ST elevation ‘convex toward the top’ in right precordial leads, similar to that seen in the Brugada syndrome. In athletes the maximum ST elevation was greater (2·3±0·6mm) than in the controls (1·2±0·8mm;P≤0·004) but significantly lower than in patients with the Brugada syndrome (4·4±0·7mm;P≤0·0001). Patients with the Brugada syndrome also had a greater QRS duration (0·11±0·02s) than athletes (0·090±0·011s;P≤0·0001) with early repolarization.

Conclusions Early repolarization is almost always the rule in athletes but it is also frequent in sedentary males. Tracings somewhat simulating the Brugada syndrome were observed in only 8% of athletes without a history of syncope or familial sudden death. Significant differences exist between athletes with early repolarization and patients with the Brugada syndrome as regards the amplitude of ST elevation and QRS duration.

Key Words: Early repolarization, athletes, Brugada's syndrome, sudden death

f1 Correspondence: Paolo Zeppilli, Associate Professor of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine School, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 -Rome, Italy.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Eur Heart JHome page
D. Corrado, A. Pelliccia, H. Heidbuchel, S. Sharma, M. Link, C. Basso, A. Biffi, G. Buja, P. Delise, I. Gussac, et al.
Recommendations for interpretation of 12-lead electrocardiogram in the athlete
Eur. Heart J., January 2, 2010; 31(2): 243 - 259.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 EuropaceHome page
A. P.M. Gorgels
No value of the ECG in congenital left ventricular aneurysms and diverticula?
Europace, December 1, 2009; 11(12): 1577 - 1578.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br. J. Sports. Med.Home page
D Corrado, A Biffi, C Basso, A Pelliccia, and G Thiene
12-lead ECG in the athlete: physiological versus pathological abnormalities
Br. J. Sports Med., September 1, 2009; 43(9): 669 - 676.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Am Coll CardiolHome page
M. Bianco and P. Zeppilli
Early repolarization in the athlete.
J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., June 9, 2009; 53(23): 2199 - 2200.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Am Coll CardiolHome page
R. Rosso, E. Kogan, M. Ish-Shalom, and S. Viskin
Reply.
J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., June 9, 2009; 53(23): 2200 - 2200.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br. J. Sports. Med.Home page
H. D Esperer, O. Hoos, and K. Hottenrott
Syncope due to Brugada syndrome in a young athlete
Br. J. Sports Med., March 1, 2007; 41(3): 180 - 181.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 HeartHome page
A L Gaster, U Slothuus Skjoldborg, J Larsen, L Korsholm, C von Birgelen, S Jensen, P Thayssen, K E Pedersen, and T H Haghfelt
Continued improvement of clinical outcome and cost effectiveness following intravascular ultrasound guided PCI: insights from a prospective, randomised study
Heart, September 1, 2003; 89(9): 1043 - 1049.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Eur Heart JHome page
J.A. Towbin
Early repolarization syndrome and the Brugada syndrome: forme frustes?
Eur. Heart J., March 2, 2001; 22(6): 448 - 449.
[PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.