Findings of the sports cardiology screening
pulmonary regurgitation, mitral prolapse, tachycardia, heart valve disease, asthma, Hypertension, IDA
COMPLETE RIGHT BUNDLE BRANCH BLOCK, PULMONARY REGURGITATION, MINOR, IRON DEFICIENCY, THALASSEMIA MINOR, HEART VALVE DISEASE, HYPERTENSION, ASTHMA
During the sports‐specific questionnaire no athlete reported any medical complaint, while positive family history was revealed in 9 (13.8%) cases.According to the dietary consultation and the FFQ test, there were no vegetarians among the players. They consumed meat every day as well as food with a high iron content at least twice a week: 12% of them consumed fish, 64% whole grain products, 4% bran and sprouts, 27% dried legumes, 16% nuts, and 33% cocoa. All the athletes had diverse and balanced diet with adequate nutritional intake.Due to high resting or exercise blood pressure values, 24‐hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring exams were performed in 11 cases (17%). Hypertension was diagnosed in one case; angiotensin receptor blocker therapy was initiated.Regarding the laboratory exams, no major alteration was found. In one case thalassemia minor was diagnosed based on laboratory parameters (mildly decreased hemoglobin [121 g/L], hematocrit [0.37], mean corpuscular volume [61.2 fL], and mean corpuscular hemoglobin [20 pg] with elevated red blood cell [6.06 T/L] and red blood cell distribution width [17.3%]). After hematology consultation, lifetime folic acid therapy was initiated.Anemic iron deficiency (IDA) was not detected, but the frequency of IDNA was high (On the resting ECG, the most common physiological ECG change was incomplete right bundle branch block (On the echocardiography, we found only minor heart valve disease in 3 subjects (5%), which were mitral prolapse in two cases and mild pulmonary regurgitation in one case.In one case, during the CPET exam two consecutive monomorphic six beats long wide QRS tachycardia were recorded in the restitution phase. The athlete was asymptomatic, and his resting ECG, echocardiography, and cardiac MRI was negative. According to the morphology, Belhassen tachycardia was established, and regular follow‐up was recommended. Impaired respiratory values were detected in one player during the CPET exam. The athlete was referred for a pulmonology examination where asthma was diagnosed, and therapy was initiated.In the CPET exams, the maximum load showed a constant increase in the different age groups. The resting and peak HR had a declining trend; meanwhile HR recovery increased with age. The difference in VO