Abstract
Using electrocardiography and echocardiography, we screened elite men and women ballet dancers for abnormal cardiovascular conditions using an observation design with blinded clinical analysis of cardiac function tests. Fifty-eight (females n=33) elite professional ballet dancers (age: 26.0±5.7 years, body mass index: 19.9±2.2 kg/m2) with no past or present history of cardio vascular disease volunteered. Participants were assessed via a 12-lead electrocardiography and two-dimensional echocardiography for cardiac function. Electrocardiography revealed that 83% of our dancers demonstrated normal axis, while 31% had incomplete right bundle branch block and 17% had sinus bradycardia; none showed any abnormal findings. Findings from the echocardiography were also normal for all participants and comparable to their counterparts in other sports. Significant differences (p<0.05) were detected in almost all studied echocardiographic parameters between males and females. In conclusion, heart function and structure seem to be normal in elite ballet dancers, placing them at low risk for sudden cardiac death and performance-related cardiovascular complications. Larger samples are required to confirm these findings.Citation
Metsios, G. S., Wyon, M., Patel, K., Allen, N. and Koutedakis, Y. (2019) Dancers’ heart: Cardiac screening in elite dancers, European Journal of Sport Science. 20(7), pp. 920-925 https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2019.1672793Publisher
Taylor & FrancisJournal
European Journal of Sport ScienceAdditional Links
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2019.1672793Type
Journal articleLanguage
enDescription
This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Sport Science on 10/10/2019, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2019.1672793 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.ISSN
1746-1391ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/17461391.2019.1672793
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/