Recommendations for participation in leisure-time physical activity and competitive sports of patients with arrhythmias and potentially arrhythmogenic conditions Part II: Ventricular arrhythmias, channelopathies and implantable defibrillators

This consensus paper on behalf of the Study Group on Sports Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology follows a previous one on guidelines for sports participation in competitive and recreational athletes with supraventricular arrhythmias and pacemakers. The question of imminent life-threatening arrhythmias is especially relevant when some form of ventricular rhythm disorder is documented, or when the patient is diagnosed to have inherited a pro-arrhythmogenic disorder. Frequent ventricular premature beats or nonsustained ventricular tachycardia may be a hallmark of underlying pathology and increased risk. Their finding should prompt a thorough cardiac evaluation, including both imaging modalities and electrophysiological techniques. This should allow distinguishing idiopathic rhythm disorders from underlying disease that carries a more ominous prognosis. Recommendations on sports participation in inherited arrhythmogenic conditions and asymptomatic gene carriers are also discussed: congenital and acquired long QT syndrome, short QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and other familial electrical disease of unknown origin. If an implantable cardioverter defibrillator is indicated, it is no substitute for the guidelines relating to the underlying pathology. Moreover, some particular recommendations for patients/athletes with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator are to be observed. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 13:676-686 (C) 2006 The European Society of Cardiology