Jamie Barrand | Nov 3, 2015

Some heart patients may be able to participate in competitive sports

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology said Monday some athletes living with specific types of irregular heartbeats or those who have medical devices implanted to regulate their hearts' rhythms may still be able to participate in competitive sports.

The joint statement appeared in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The recommendations are for athletes participating in sports overseen by a coach, not those who occasionally participate for fun or exercise. It does not include patients with long QT syndrome, which can lead to life-threatening complications.

“These recommendations are intended to help health care providers and competitive athletes make individualized decisions based on the most current scientific research, the patient’s understanding of their risk and the health care provider’s clinical judgment, but are not intended to establish absolute mandates or to make the general medical (and legal) standard of care applicable to all competitive athletes,” Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center Director Barry Maron, co-chair of the statement's writing committee, said. “It should be noted that the guidance for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has not changed — we still recommend avoiding intense competitive sports for people who have this condition.”

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