title: Left ventricular false tendons and electrocardiogram repolarization abnormalities in healthy young subjects.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe echocardiographically left ventricular false tendon characteristics and the correlation with ventricular repolarization abnormalities in young athletes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and sixteen healthy young athletes from different sport disciplines were evaluated from 2009 to 2011 during routine screening for agonistic sports eligibility. All subjects, as part of standard pre-participation screening medical evaluation, underwent a basal and post step test 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). The athletes with abnormal T-wave flattening and/or inversion were considered for an echocardiogram evaluation and an incremental maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer. Arterial blood pressure and heart rate, during and after exercise, were also measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-one of the 316 subjects (6.9%) showed false tendons in the left ventricle. The majority of false tendons (52.38%) were localized between the middle segments of the inferior septum and the lateral wall, 19.06% between the distal segments of the septum and the lateral wall, in 5 subjects between the middle segments of the anterior and inferior walls, and in one subject between the middle segments of the anterior septum and the posterior wall. ECG abnormalities, represented by alterations of ventricular repolarization, were found in 11 subjects (52.38%), 90% of these anomalies were T wave abnormalities from V1 to V3. These anomalies disappeared with an increasing heart rate following the three minute step test as well as during the execution of the maximal exercise.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Left ventricular false tendons are frequently localized between the middle segments of the inferior septum and the lateral wall and are statistically associated with ventricular repolarization abnormalities.
authors.affiliation: Zlatan Lazarevic, Federico Quaranta, Fabio Sperandii, Emanuele Guerra, Fabio Pigozzi, Paolo Borrione, University Foundation Foro Italico, 00135 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Zlatan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lazarevic
authors.affiliation: Zlatan Lazarevic, Federico Quaranta, Fabio Sperandii, Emanuele Guerra, Fabio Pigozzi, Paolo Borrione, University Foundation Foro Italico, 00135 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ciminelli
authors.affiliation: Zlatan Lazarevic, Federico Quaranta, Fabio Sperandii, Emanuele Guerra, Fabio Pigozzi, Paolo Borrione, University Foundation Foro Italico, 00135 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Quaranta
authors.affiliation: Zlatan Lazarevic, Federico Quaranta, Fabio Sperandii, Emanuele Guerra, Fabio Pigozzi, Paolo Borrione, University Foundation Foro Italico, 00135 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sperandii
authors.affiliation: Zlatan Lazarevic, Federico Quaranta, Fabio Sperandii, Emanuele Guerra, Fabio Pigozzi, Paolo Borrione, University Foundation Foro Italico, 00135 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.affiliation: Zlatan Lazarevic, Federico Quaranta, Fabio Sperandii, Emanuele Guerra, Fabio Pigozzi, Paolo Borrione, University Foundation Foro Italico, 00135 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pigozzi
authors.affiliation: Zlatan Lazarevic, Federico Quaranta, Fabio Sperandii, Emanuele Guerra, Fabio Pigozzi, Paolo Borrione, University Foundation Foro Italico, 00135 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borrione
keywords: Echocardiography; False chordae tendineae; Repolarization anomalies; T wave inversion; Young athletes