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Cardiac Arrhythmias: Atrial Fibrillation, SVT, Sports Medicine

Charles W. Webb, DO, FAAFP, CAQSM and David L. Brown, MD, MBA Reviewed 04/2019
 


BASICS

Any deviation from normal (sinus) heart rhythm broadly classified as bradyarrhythmias (slow) or tachyarrhythmias (fast) 1 

EPIDEMIOLOGY

Incidence

  • Bradyarrhythmias 2,3:

    • Common in aerobically trained...

DIAGNOSIS

  • Wide range of clinical presentations, from occasional palpitations to sudden cardiac death 3

  • Bradyarrhythmias can present with impaired consciousness or fatigue.

  • Tachyarrhythmias can cause pal...

TREATMENT

  • Acute treatment 1,4,5,6:

    • Symptomatic athletes should initially have airway, breathing, and circulation (ABCs) assessed and stabilized.

    • If athlete is unstable, may require advanced cardiac life...

ONGOING CARE

  • Return to play guidelines 2[C]:

    • Important for thorough cardiac examination because underlying structural heart disease may place athlete at increased risk for sudden cardiac death with exe...

REFERENCES

1
Page RL, Joglar JA, Caldwell MA, et al. 2015 ACC/AHA/HRS guideline for the management of adult patients with supraventricular tachycardia: a report of the American College of Cardiology/Am...

CLINICAL PEARLS

  • Document pertinent negatives in history 1,5.

  • Document a dynamic heart exam during physicals and evaluations of symptomatic individuals.

  • Consider ECG as first step in evaluation of arrhyt...

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