ECG screening criteria for young athletes

European ECG screening criteria for young athletes need review

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 | Sue Hughes

Stockholm, Sweden - The European ECG-based screening process for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in young athletes needs to be reviewed, and the criteria for further evaluation should be recalculated according to the type and intensity of the exercise performed, a new study suggests.

"Training-related changes on the ECG are different for individuals participating in different sports. We should not be using the same screening criteria for a whole range of sports. As well as the type and intensity of sport, other factors that can influence ECG changes are gender and race. Therefore, we need a whole set of different individual guidelines for each group," study author Dr José Angel Cabrera (Hospital Quiron, Madrid, Spain) told heartwire.

Cabrera explained that the European ECG screening criteria for young athletes are associated with a very high rate of false positives, meaning that many individuals are referred on unnecessarily for further tests. "The guidelines have changed recently, and the situation has improved. We used to see a rate of about 70% false positives, but this has now been reduced to about 50%. But we can improve the ECG criteria even more if we factor in type of sport, race, and gender. We can then really refine what we are looking for as a sign of structural heart disease." Several groups are working on producing such guidelines, he added./.../