slow heart rate with symptoms in a 15 yo athlete

Hello, I am concerned with my nephews health - he is 15 years old and an athlete (cross country, basketball, etc)  He is very fit and training daily.  He has recently been having symptoms of lightheadedness & dizziness.  A trip to the family physican yesterday showed a heart rate of 49 on physical exam.  An EKG which my sister insisted upon showed sinus bradycardia with a heart rate of 43.  Should we be concerned, and how can this condition be treated in someone as described.  He really wants to continue sports.  Please help!  Thanks in advance.

[CCF-M.D.-CRC]

Dear angie,
It is very common for trained athletes to have low resting heart rates.  This does not generally require treatment.  The treatment of the lightheadedness would depend upon the cause.  If the heart rate increases normally with exercise than it is unlikely to be the source.  It is not uncommon for athletes to have a predisposition to vasovagal symptoms due to a high resting vagal tone.  The diagnosis is made with a tilt-table test.  Treatment of vasovagal symptoms includes liberalization of salt and fluid intake and rising slowly from supine positions.  Medications are rarely needed.  A good sports medicine doctor or a specialist in the area of syncope should be able to help with diagnosis and treatment.  If he would like to be seen at the Cleveland Clinic please call 1-800-CCF-CARE to make an appointment in the syncope clinic.

[JR]

49 dosent seem that slow for an athlete to me....
as long as bp is good, i wouldnt see a problem.

[Justin]

I am a 26 year old Male. While I have had regular extercise in the past, in recent times I have done nothing other then the odd game of tennis.

My body fat content at the moment is 31%, and I am 95 kilos (200 pounds) 5 10"

I recently purchased a heart rate monitor to help me get back into show (Polar).

As part of my 'fitness' measurement, I registered (waking up in the morning and using my heart rate monitor) a resting rate of 42-45 bpm.... However, when I lightly jog, my rate increases to 150...

Should this be a concern?

[danielle0]

I also was experiencing lightheadedness for a short while about 6 months ago, so had a visit with my doctor.  She determined my resting heartrate was 45-48 beats/minute and blood pressure was normal.  EKG, heart monitor both showed nothing out of the ordinary.  I am 41, fairly fit, and exercise quite regularly but wouldn't consider myself a 'highly trained' athlete.  The lightheadedness has since disappeared as well (unrelated problem), so I believe my heartrate isn't anything to be alarmed about.