INTRODUCTION: Cardiac arrhythmias (CA), especially atrial fibrillation (AF), are relatively common among elite endurance athletes. Conventional diagnostic tools for assessment of rhythm disorders suffer from limited availability, limited test duration time, and usability challenges, particularly during the demanding conditions of an elite athlete training many hours each day. In endurance athletes, there is a need for out-of-hospital monitoring and detection of arrhythmias under conditions that are relevant and potentially provocative. The Norwegian patch ECG247 Smart Heart Sensor has been developed to simplify the assessment of heart rhythm disorders. The current study aimed to evaluate the ECG247 Smart Heart Sensor function and practicalities in an elite athlete environment. METHODS: A total of 13 professional cyclists at the UNO-X Pro Cycling Team were examined continuously with the ECG247 Smart Heart Sensor during a 14-day training camp in Spain, December 2021. All ECG data were automatically analysed by the ECG247 physicians at Sorlandet Hospital Arendal, Norway. Athletes completed a brief questionnaire registering their training (from on-bike monitoring units) and self-assessment of usability parameters after the test. RESULTS: In 8 of 13 athletes (69% male, age 23+-4 years), two test periods were performed, resulting in a total of 21 long-term tests with continuous ECG monitoring. Average athlete ECG test duration was 144+-47 hours (89+-24hours/test). The athletes had an average of 15+-5 training hours during each test. The ECG quality from all tests was considered satisfactory for rhythm analysis - also during exercise. The reported usability of the ECG247 Smart Heart Sensor was high, and no athletes reported trouble sleeping or training with the sensor attached. The automatic arrhythmia algorithm reported of possible arrhythmia events in 13 (62%) tests; 9 atrial flutter and 4 supratventricular tachycardia. Retrospective thorough manual assessment by physicians revealed normal sinus rhythm in all tests. CONCLUSION: The ECG247 Smart Heart Sensor allowed for high quality ECG monitoring during intensive exercise in athletes. The integrated arrhythmia analysing algorithm might be better adapted for this user group.
© Copyright 2022 27th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Sevilla, 30. Aug - 2. Sep 2022. Published by Faculty of Sport Science - Universidad Pablo de Olavide. All rights reserved.