Cardiac pauses in competitive athletes: a systematic review examining the basis of current practice recommendations

ŞENTÜRK T., Xu H., Puppala K., Krishnan B., Sakaguchi S., Chen L. Y., ...More

EUROPACE, vol.18, no.12, pp.1873-1879, 2016 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Review
  • Volume: 18 Issue: 12
  • Publication Date: 2016
  • Doi Number: 10.1093/europace/euv373
  • Journal Name: EUROPACE
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.1873-1879
  • Keywords: Cardiac, Pause, Sports, Athletes, Symptoms, Bradycardia, VENTRICULAR PAUSES, FOLLOW-UP, ASYSTOLE, BRADYCARDIA, ARRHYTHMIAS, SYNCOPE
  • Bursa Uludag University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Aims It is generally recommended that individuals aspiring to competitive sports should undergo pre-participation cardiovascular assessment, particularly including arrhythmia risk evaluation. In regard to bradyarrhythmias, the 36th Bethesda Conference suggested that asymptomatic cardiac pauses <= 3 s are 'probably of no significance', whereas longer 'symptomatic' pauses may be abnormal. This study focused on assessing the evidence for the '3 s' threshold.