The importance of the electrocardiogram in the competitive pre-period

• Autor(a) principal: Coelho, Patricia
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Rodrigues, Francisco, Mateus, Sónia
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.11/6749
• topic: Electrocardiogram; Athletes; Seattle criteria

The electrocardiogram is a safe and practical exam that allows the diagnosis of subclinical pathologies in asymptomatic athletes. In order to reduce false positives, it is of the utmost importance that this analysis be performed based on criteria specific to athletes. To analyse electrocardiograms according to the criteria of Seattle performed to athletes in the pre-competitive phase, in two consecutive years. A longitudinal observational study was performed in 14 athletes from different sport modalities who underwent a pre-competitive evaluation in two consecutive years. The average age of the athletes was 24.5 ± 4.9 years, of which 13 were male (92.9%) and 1 were female (7.1%). According to the Seattle Criteria, electrocardiographic changes were recorded in 10 individuals (71.4%), 6 of which were considered physiological, 2 were borderline and 2 were pathological. In the relation between the two years there was an increase of electrocardiographic alterations. Most of the alterations found were classified as physiological according to the Seattle Criteria, although they could be considered pathological following non-specific criteria for athletes. The electrocardiographic analysis of these athletes allowed to track two athletes with alterations considered pathological according to the criteria of Seattle.