ECG finding in Sudanese athletes: A Pilot Study
Abstract
Background: Sudden deaths of young competitive athletes are tragic events that continue to have
a considerable impact on the medical communities which raised the need for a pre-participation
cardiovascular screening as a systematic practice of medically evaluating large, general populations
of athletes for the purpose of identifying abnormalities that could provoke disease progression or
sudden death
Objectives: The aim of the study was to detect ECG changes among Sudanese athlete
Material and Methods: The study was a descriptive crossectional study including 30 Sudanese
male athletes and 20male control subjects matched with age .The exercisers were grouped
according to the type of exercise performed to static, dynamic, and mix type of exercise. Each
group included 10 subjects .Their age ranged between 18-30 years. All subjects included in the
study were clinically evaluated and an ECG record was obtained.
Results: significant sinus bradycardia in athletics groups was observed. The mean [±SD] PR
interval in control subjects and athletes was 0.18 [±.011] ms and 0.20 [±.010] ms respectively
(p < .005). Comparisons among groups revealed significant prolongation in PR interval in the
dynamic exercisers (mean0 .22 ms) when compared to control subjects, the static and mix
exercisers. The QT interval was prolonged among dynamic exercisers when compared with the
other athletes and the control subject (p<.008).
Conclusions: there was sinus bradycardia in all groups of athletes. A statistically significant
prolongation of the PR, QT and RR intervals among dynamic type of exercise in comparison to
different types of exercise was obtained. A pre participations ECG screening is recommended to be
performed for all Sudanese athletes before participation in any competitive exercise
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