ICD Sports Registry Analysis: Young Athletes with ICDs See No Signal for Safety Issue

This post hoc subanalysis looked at the safety of sports for young patients with implantable cardiovert defibrillators (ICDs). A total of 129 patients with ICDs were selected from the Multinational ICD Sports Registry were included in the analysis. Data on sports and clinical outcomes were obtained via phone interview and medical records, while ICD shock and clinical details of lead malfunction were electrophysiologist-classified. The study results suggested that the most common sports seen in the analysis were basketball and soccer, including 79 athletes. The most common diagnoses were long QT syndrome, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congenital heart disease. 27% of athletes experienced shock during 48 months of follow-up. No deaths, cardiac arrest or arrhythmia-related injury was reported. The researchers concluded that while “shocks related to competition/practice are not uncommon, there were no serious adverse sequelae.”

Saare E, Law I, Berul C, et al. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2018;doi:10.1161/CIRCEP.118.006305

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCEP.118.006305