Lack of correlation between ventricular late potentials and left ventricular mass in top-level male athletes.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to establish: 1) the prevalence of abnormal signal-averaged electrocardiogram (SAECG) in a large population of top-level athletes and 2) the relationship between SAECG parameters and left ventricular mass. One-hundred and fifty-three elite male athletes without apparent heart disease, symptoms, or arrhythmias were studied.


METHODS
Fifty-six athletes (37%) had increased left ventricular mass (> 134 g.m(-2)). All athletes underwent time-domain SAECG on 300-400 heart beats recorded at rest from three bipolar orthogonal tests with a filter setting of 40-250 Hz. Criteria for abnormality were 1) filtered QRS duration > 114 ms, 2) duration of low-amplitude signals > 38 ms, or 3) root mean square voltage of the last 40 ms of the filtered QRS < 20 microV.


RESULTS
The prevalence of abnormal SAECG was 7.2% (abnormality of one parameter), 6.5% (abnormality of two parameters), and 5.8%(abnormality of three parameters). The prevalence of abnormal SAECG was similar in athletes with or without increased left ventricular mass.


CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, this study showed: 1) the low rate of positive results of SAECG parameters in top-level male athletes, similar to that found in healthy sedentary subjects; and 2) the lack of correlation between left ventricular mass and overall SAECG parameters.
Biffi
A
A
Department of Medicine, Institute of Sports Science, Italian National Olympic Committee, and San Filippo Neri Hospital, Rome.
Verdile
L
L
Ansalone
G
G
Spataro
A
A
Spada
R
R
Fernando
F
F
Caselli
G
G
Santini
M
M
D000200:Action Potentials; D000328:Adult; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology*; D016276:Ventricular Function