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Historically, patients with long QT syndrome (LQTS) were prohibited from participation in competitive sports because of the fear of these sports provoking life-threatening arrhythmias. However, data are accumulating that this risk may not be as high as previously thought.
In a 20-year retrospective analysis of athletes with LQTS seen at Mayo Clinic, 494 patients (mean age at diagnosis, 14.8) were approved for return to play after a comprehensive workup. Importantly, athletes and their families participated in a shared decision-making strategy regarding return to play. In 2016 patient-years of follow-up, there was no LQTS-associated mortality. Nonlethal cardiac events occurred in 29 patients (5.9%); of the 15 events occurring in patients who …