Cardiac screening in the pre-participation evaluation of young athletes from a professional soccer club in Colombia adapted to moderate altitude
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v80.113252Keywords:
Adaptation physiological, adolescent , athlete's heart, cardiac sudden death, electrocardiographyAbstract
Introduction: Soccer is a sport widely practiced by the youth population worldwide. Preparticipation evaluation (PPE) in children and adolescents is currently considered a clinical challenge.
Objective: Globally, there is limited literature describing PPE findings in young soccer players adapted to moderate altitude. The objective of this study is to determine the clinical and electrocardiographic findings observed in young soccer players during cardiac screening.
Methodology: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in 130 male youth soccer players from the lower divisions of Club Deportivo Patriotas-Boyacá. Cardiac screening through physical examination, and electrocardiogram is essential to identify athlete’s heart adaptations and the risk of sudden cardiac death in athletes.
Discussion: Cardiac screening identified findings consistent with athlete’s heart in 75 soccer players (57.7%), with sinus bradycardia being the most frequent criterion among all athletes (42.3%). Conversely, 12 athletes (9.2%) presented findings associated with risk of sudden cardiac death, and only 2.3% simultaneously met both clinical and electrocardiographic criteria, with abnormal T-wave inversion being the most common (3.1%).
Conclusions: Findings from cardiac screening in adolescent soccer players adapted to moderate altitude are similar to those in other populations worldwide. Performing a systematic evaluation that includes the 14 AHA items, a medical examination by a sports medicine specialist, and an ECG appear to be fundamental interventions for the appropriate assessment and
classification of athlete’s heart versus risk of sudden cardiac death. Further research in these athletes is required.
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