Analysis of early repolarization in 621 competitive Algerian athletes

Purpose The aim of our work is to study early repolarization (ER) in athletes and comparing between the end QRS slurring and notching. Materials and methods Our study population consists of 621 competitive athletes of both sexes aged 12 to 48 with an average age of 17.4 years. The statistical study used the chi-square test for the comparison of the proportions and the analysis of the variance analysis (ANOVA) for the comparison of the averages. The significance level was set at 5%. Results The prevalence of ER according to the new diagnostic criteria is 26.1%. With a clear masculine predominance. This prevalence increases with age, reaching its maximum in the third decade, and then decreases. The prevalence of ER is higher in athletes with bradycardia and with a Sokolow-Lyon index greater than 35 mm. No relationship was found for the Cornell index. The prevalence of ER is significantly lower in athletes with an incomplete right bundle branch block. The ER are located in the inferior leads in 40.7%, lateral in 34.6% and both in 24.7%. This distribution of topographies of ER is not influenced by age and gender. The notching is the predominant pattern whatever the topography of ER (notching, 57.4%; slurring, 18.5%; both, 24.1%). The notching predominate on lateral leads (52.3%) while the slurring on inferior leads (68.1%). Only the notching was significantly associated with the male gender (23.8% vs. 5.7%, P P Conclusion We found a prevalence of ER of 26.1%. The inferior topography is the most frequent and the notching is the predominant aspect.