Cor Vasa 2020, 62(4):399-404 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2020.031

(Athlete with pacemaker or cardioverter-defibrillator)

Otakar Jiravský^a,b,c, Bogna Jiravská Godula^a,c,d, Jan Chovančík^a, Radim Špaček^a, Libor Škňouřil^a, Martin Fiala^b,e

^a Kardiocentrum, Nemocnice Podlesí, a.s., Třinec

^b Lékařská fakulta Masarykovy univerzity, Brno

^c Sportovní ambulance, s.r.o.

^d Poliklinika Agel, Dopravní zdravotnictví a.s.

^e Neuron Medical - Centrum kardiovaskulární péče, Brno

The Czech Republic is one of the leaders in the number of implantations of pacemakers and defibrillators in Europe. Increasingly, people in the younger generation may have one of the implants. Cardiologists are then confronted with questions and asked for recommendations about conditions a patient with an implanted pacemaker or defibrillator can engage in the sports activity. This care requires specific cardiological educa- tion along with an understanding of the athlete's mind and desires. The emerging sub-specialization of sports cardiology answers the above-mentioned requirements and becomes a bridge between the world of sports and the world of patients with cardiovascular disease. In this review, the currently published data on individual aspects of the sport with an implanted pacemaker and defibrillator are summarized in an abbreviated form. Issues of indication of implants, return to sports activities after implantation, care of the generator area, issues of electrode durability in athletes, specifica- tions of system programming in athletes, stress testing are discussed. Finally, the facts about the eligibility of an athlete with an implanted system for sport are summarized.

Keywords: Eligibility for sport, Implantable cardioverter- -defibrillator, Permanent pacemaker, Sudden cardiac death of an athlete

Received: April 16, 2020; Revised: April 24, 2020; Accepted: April 24, 2020; Published: September 16, 2020  Show citation