Exercise is not associated with increased risk of cardiac events for long QT syndrome
July 25, 2024
Media Advisory
Thursday July 25, 2024
An NIH-funded study could ease exercise restrictions for people with genetic heart disease.
What is the best way to contact you?
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that people who exercise vigorously but have LQTS, an inherited disorder of the heart's electrical system that leads to chaotic heartbeats, are at no greater risk of heart problems than those who exercise only moderately or don't exercise at all. The study was published in TrafficThe new data help answer the long-standing question of whether intense exercise can increase the risk of life-threatening (ventricular) arrhythmias in people treated for LQTS. These new findings also fill a gap in the evidence that has often led to recommendations for exercise restrictions for people with LQTS.
From May 2015 to February 2019, the observational study, funded by the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), enrolled 1,413 people with LQTS at 37 clinically located sites in five countries. Study participants ranged in age from 8 to 60 years old and were diagnosed with LQTS based on abnormal electrocardiogram results or carried the LQTS-associated gene. Importantly, at the time of the study, all participants were being treated for their condition with medications or surgically attached devices, such as an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), that can detect arrhythmias. Fifty-two percent of study participants are already active athletes, such as runners. The remaining 48 percent exercise moderately, such as walking, yard work, or household chores, or do not exercise at all.
The researchers then followed the four groups over a three-year period, looking at their cardiovascular outcomes: sudden deaths, arrhythmias treated with an ICD, and arrhythmic syncope, the most serious type of fainting due to arrhythmias.
The results of a non-inferiority study, comparing one type of treatment to another (in this case vigorous exercise to moderate exercise), were not statistically significant. The researchers found that people with LQTS who exercised vigorously had a low rate of adverse cardiac events. In fact, only 2.6% of people had a cardiac event likely caused by LQTS over the 3-year period. The result for people who exercised moderately or did not exercise at all was the same: 2.7% of them had a cardiac event.
You can also study with us
Lampert R, Day S, Ackerman MJ, et al. The effects of vigorous exercise on patients with congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS). Results from the multinational prospective observational study 'Lifestyle and Exercise in Long QT Syndrome' (LIVE-LQTS). Diffusion. 2024. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.067590
What is the best way to contact you?
Patrice Desvigne Nickens, MD is the medical advisor for the NHLBI Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. She is available to discuss this study.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: NHLBI, a world leader, conducts and supports research on heart, blood, lung and sleep disorders that improves public health care and saves lives. Visit the website for more information. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health: NIH is the medical research agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It includes 27 institutes and centers. The NIH, the National Medical Research Agency, is a component of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It is responsible for conducting basic, translational and clinical medical research and studying causes, treatments and cures. Visit NIH for more information about its programs. www.nih.gov.
NIH…Transforming Discovery into Healthcare(r)
###
English 
French