QT interval variability and athlete's heart remodeling

Abstract

At present, the prevention of sudden cardiac death in athletes is of great interest. A large amount of literature data concerning the correlation between the length of the QT interval and the proarrhythmic potential of the myocardium has been accumulated. However, new potential predictors of the fatal arrhythmias occurrence in athletes have emerged in recent years — an increase in the dispersion of the QT interval, as well as short-term variability in repolarization. This review provides detailed data on the diagnosis, prevalence, classifi cation, etiology of long QT as one of the manifestations of QT variance. The variety of causes leading to long QT syndrome (LQTS) causes diffi culties in the diff erential diagnosis of this condition and, and as a result, LQTS often remains outside the attention of practitioners. The data of recent studies of the athlete’s heart remodelling are presented as well.