The 12‐Lead Electrocardiogram of the Rugby Football League Athlete: Impact of Sex and Age

Warrington, C, Thompson, A, Read, J, Abram, J, Mill, N, Cooper, R, George, K and Oxborough, D (2025) The 12‐Lead Electrocardiogram of the Rugby Football League Athlete: Impact of Sex and Age. European Journal of Sport Science, 25 (5). pp. 1-8. ISSN 1746-1391

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Abstract

Electrocardiogram (ECG) findings in male Rugby Football League (RFL) athletes have previously been investigated but variations in other demographics are less understood. The study examined 161 ECGs in male and female, paediatric (< 18 years old) and adult (≥ 18 years old) RFL athletes. Athletes (65% male, 35% female) aged 14–33 years underwent a 12-lead ECG that was assessed for training-related cardiac electrical adaptations. Four athletes with abnormal ECGs were excluded. Results indicated that male athletes had an increased PR interval (152 ± 32 vs. 140 ± 19 ms; p < 0.001), QRS duration (98 ± 7 vs. 87 ± 6 ms; p < 0.001), voltage criteria for right (6 ± 3 vs. 4 ± 2 mm; p < 0.001) and left (33 ± 9 vs. 27 ± 7 mm; p < 0.001) ventricular hypertrophy (RVH/LVH) compared to females, who exhibited increased resting heart rate (HR) (67 ± 11 vs. 62 ± 11 bpm; p < 0.001) and QTc intervals (408 ± 45 vs. 398 ± 22 ms; p = 0.028). Adult athletes had a reduced HR (61 ± 10 vs. 66 ± 13 bpm; p < 0.001) and RVH criteria (5 ± 2 vs. 7 ± 3 mm; p = 0.015) compared to paediatric athletes. When controlling for weekly training hours in adult athletes, males present only a longer PR interval (156 ± 32 vs. 141 ± 19 ms; p < 0.037) and QRS duration (99 ± 7 vs. 87 ± 7 ms; p < 0.001) when compared to females. These results highlight the need for tailored cardiac screening guidelines that account for an RFL athlete's sex, age and training exposure.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0913 Mechanical Engineering; 1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences; Sport Sciences; 4207 Sports science and exercise; 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
Divisions:	Sport and Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Wiley on behalf of European College of Sport Science
Date of acceptance:	4 April 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	6 May 2025
Date Deposited:	06 May 2025 08:19
Last Modified:	06 May 2025 08:30
DOI or ID number:	10.1002/ejsc.12304
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/26308

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