Prevalence of Abnormal and Borderline Electrocardiogram Changes in 13, 079 Chinese Amateur Marathon Runners

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of normal, borderline and abnormal ECG changes in marathon runners. The 12-lead ECG data of 13,079 amateur marathon runners between the ages of 18 and 35 years were included for analysis. The prevalence of ECG abnormalities among different gender groups was compared with chi-square tests. In terms of training-related changes, sinus bradycardia, sinus arrhythmia and left ventricular high voltage were found in approximately 15%, 5% and 3.28% of the participants, respectively. The incidence of right axis deviation in the marathon runners was 1.78%, which was slightly higher than the incidence of left axis deviation (0.88%). No more than 0.1% of the amateur marathon runners exhibited ST segment depression, T wave inversion (TWI), premature ventricular contraction, pathologic Q waves and prolonged QT interval. In conclusion, training-related ECG changes, including sinus bradycardia, sinus arrhythmia and left ventricular high voltage, were common in the amateur marathon runners. Most of abnormal ECG changes, including ST segment depression, TWI, premature ventricular contraction, pathologic Q waves and prolonged QT interval, were infrequently found in the amateur marathon runners.