ECG and morphologic adaptations in Arabic athletes: are the European Society of Cardiology's recommendations for the interpretation of the 12-lead ECG appropriate for this ethnicity?

Abstract

Arabic athletes present significantly smaller cardiac dimensions than Black African and Caucasian athletes. There was no significant difference between the frequency of an uncommon and training-unrelated ECG between Arabic and Caucasian athletes. Therefore, the use of ESC guidelines for the interpretation of an athlete's ECG is clinically relevant and acceptable for use within Arabic athletes.

Systematic echocardiography is not efficacious when screening an ethnically diverse cohort of athletes in West Asia

“…However, the prevalence of HCM in Black African athletes is approximately 10-times greater than that observed in previous studies among Caucasian athletes, estimated at approximately 0.1% (4). This higher prevalence is supported by previous studies in Arabic and Black African athletes that report SCD disease prevalences of approximately 0.5% and 1% respectively, 8,10 with previous investigations reporting HCM to be more prevalent in black athletes than Caucasians. 13 Anecdotal data collected in our facility suggests that up to 60% of our black African athletes (originating from Sudan, Somalia, Ghana, Nigeria, Chad, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroon, and Ethiopia) have never seen a physician before presenting for pre-participation screening.…”

Blood pressure and hypertension in athletes: a systematic review

“…Three of the four studies relating high BP to left ventricular hypertrophy showed a significant positive linear association, either between BP and indexed left ventricular mass,13 between resting SBP and left ventricle mass and left ventricle wall thickness,49 or between SBP and the RaVL lead in ECG 29. One study found no association between SBP and relative wall thickness 30…”

Cardiovascular evaluation of middle-aged individuals engaged in high-intensity sport activities: implications for workload, yield and economic costs

“…Black athletes have a higher rate of ECG abnormalities (many of which normal variations)32 potentially increasing the number of downstream tests and costs of the programme. Arab athletes have similar rates of ECG abnormalities as Caucasian athletes 33. Our results may not be generalisable to more diverse populations aged >35 years.…”