In a small cohort of professional soccer players, J-point elevation was common and did not portend sudden cardiac death during long-term follow-up.
Early repolarization is more common in trained athletes than in the general population and has for decades been considered a benign finding. Recent reports have challenged this view; in particular, findings from a 2008 study demonstrated that a high percentage of survivors of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation have electrocardiographic (ECG) evidence of early repolarization (NEJM JW Cardiol May 14 2008). However, the definition of early repolarization in that study encompassed slurred terminal QRS and notched J waves (see ) — findings not included in the classic definition of early repolarization.
In a new retrospective analysis of ECG findings and outcomes in 332 professional soccer players, early repolarization was identified in 36%…