Brugada Syndrome, Exercise, and Exercise Testing

ABSTRACT There are few data on the risk of exercise and the role of exercise stress testing in Brugada syndrome. We sought to address this deficiency using a systematic literature review. We identified 98 English‐language articles possibly addressing exercise in Brugada syndrome by searching PubMed and Google Scholar from January 1990 through November 2013 using the keywords “Brugada syndrome,” “exercise,” “exercise testing,” and “syncope” alone and in combinations. Abstracts were reviewed, and those articles pertaining to Brugada syndrome and exercise were reviewed in full. We identified 18 articles reporting on Brugada syndrome and exercise. This pool included 2 large studies of 93 and 50 Brugada subjects undergoing exercise testing, plus 16 case reports. There were no reports of exercise‐related sudden death, but there were 4 cases of syncope after exercise. We identified 166 Brugada patients who underwent exercise testing. During exercise testing, there were 2 reports of ventricular tachycardia and 1 report of multiple ventricular extrasystoles. ST ‐segment elevation increased ( ST augmentation) during the early recovery phase of exercise in 57% of patients. Exercise unmasked a Brugada electrocardiographic pattern in 5 patients. Exercise is associated with syncope and ST augmentation after exercise and may be helpful in unmasking Brugada syndrome. There are insufficient data on the risks of exercise in Brugada syndrome to make recommendations for exercise, but the observations that exercise can worsen the ST abnormalities in Brugada and produce ventricular arrhythmias suggest that patients with Brugada syndrome should be restricted from vigorous exercise.