Safety of Sports for Athletes With Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators

ntil 2015, consensus statements 1,2 advised against sports participation more vigorous than golf for patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) because of the postulated risks of death caused by failure to defibrillate, injury resulting from arrhythmia-related syncope or shock, or device damage. The multinational, prospective, observational ICD Sports Safety Registry quantified risks associated with sports participation for athletes receiving ICDs on the basis of standard criteria. Initial results (2013 3 ) demonstrated no death, failure to defibrillate, or injury resulting from arrhythmia or shock during sports. On the basis of these data, the 2015 eligibility and disqualification recommendations for competitive athletes with cardiovascular disease 4 now state that competitive sports may be considered for athletes with ICDs. This report describes 4-year follow-up of the completed registry. 3 Methods are as reported previously. The Yale University Human Investigation Committee approved the study. All participants gave written informed consent.