abnormal ekg

[wheels71]

My 15 year old son is very athletic often partaking in 3 hours of hard exercise a day.  He has had an abnormal ekg  that presented with right atrial enlargement and probable left ventricular hypertrophy.  We asked for the ekg ourselves and my son has presented with no problems.  He had a sports physical just last week where the doctor passed him no problem.  We are waiting for an Echo caridiogram but have to wait a week.  Could you give some possible insight into this.  He is still continuing to play and practice soccer at HS level every day.

[Marie M Gleason, M.D.]

In the general population of normal people, about 7-9% will have an "abnormal" ECG.  Right atrial enlargement and possible LV hypertrophy are common false positives on ECG and often lead to anxiety.  If an echocardiogram is obtained and is normal, and your doctor feels that your child's heart exam is normal, there are no cardiac symptoms and the family history is negative for congenital or inheritable heart abnormalities or early sudden death, then the ECG is likely just a false positive.

[grendslori]

I know that a pediatric cardiologist will answer your questions for you; having said that, I feel the need to jump in here and write. You should probably pull your son for the next week , from sports, until his echo is done. EKG' s can sometimes be misleading as far as determining wall thicknessess, as can chest x-rays. You need to have the echo done for a better picture. Has your son been seen and evaluated by a pediatric cardiologist yet? Make sure when you see the doctor that you know your family history as LVH can sometimes be genetic. Do you know if your son's heart walls are too thick or too thin? Hypertrophy means enlarged, or thickened. Sometimes the chamber (with thin walls) can be enlarged and sometimes the walls can just be too thick (this is something my daughter suffered from) . Consider pulling him until the echo is done and evaluated. Take care