PC gaming might create life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias in vulnerable youngsters whose tendency may have previously gone unreport, as per a new study.
Researchers observe an uncommon yet distinct pattern in children who lose consciousness while playing video games.
The findings of the study were publish in the journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society, and the Pediatric & Congenital Electrophysiology Society.
Lead investigator Claire M. Lawley, MBBS, PhD, The Heart Centre for Children, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Sydney, Australia explain :
“Video games may represent a serious risk to some children with arrhythmic conditions; they might be lethal in patients with predisposing, but often previously unrecognized arrhythmic conditions,”.
“Children who suddenly lose consciousness while electronic gaming should be assessed by a heart specialist as this could be the first sign of a serious heart problem.”
The investigators perform a systematic review of literature and initiated a multisite international outreach effort to identify cases of children with sudden loss of consciousness while playing video games.
Across the 22 cases they found, multiplayer war gaming was the most frequent trigger.
Some children died following a cardiac arrest.
Subsequent diagnoses of many heart rhythm conditions put the children at continuing risk.
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) and congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) types 1 and 2 were the most common underlying causes.
There was a high incidence of potentially relevant genetic variants (63%) with the patients, which has significant implications for their families.
In some cases, the investigation of a child who lost consciousness during video gaming led to many family members being diagnose with an important familial heart rhythm problem.
Dr. Claire M. Lawley Said :
“Families and healthcare teams should think about safety precautions around electronic gaming in children who have a condition where dangerous fast heart rhythms are a risk,”.
The investigators attribute adrenergic stimulation relate to the emotionally charge electronic gaming environment as the pathophysiological basis for this phenomenon.
Electronic gaming is not always the “safe alternative” to competitive sports it is often consider.
At the time of the cardiac incidents, many of the patients were in excited states, having just won or lost games, or were engaging in conflict with companions.
Co-investigator Christian Turner, MBBS, The Heart Centre for Children, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Sydney, Australia Said :
“We already know that some children have heart conditions that can put them at risk when playing competitive sports, but we were shocked to discover that some patients were having life-threatening blackouts during video gaming,”.
“Video gaming was something I previously thought would be an alternative ‘safe activity.’ This is a really important discovery. We need to ensure everyone knows how important it is to get checked out when someone has had a blacking out episode in these circumstances.”
The study notes that while this phenomenon is not a common occurrence, it is becoming more prevalent.
Co-investigator of the study, Jonathan Skinner, MBChB, MD, also from Sydney Said :
“Having look after children with heart rhythm problems for more than 25 years, I was stagger to see how widespread this emerging presentation is, and to find that a number of children had even died from it. All of the collaborators are keen to publicize this phenomenon so our colleagues across the globe can recognize it and protect these children and their families,”.
As an accompanying editorial Daniel Sohinki, MD, MSc, Department of Cardiology, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA, and coauthorsSaid :
“Exertion should be understood to encompass activities outside of traditional competitive athletics. Appropriate counseling regarding the risks of intense video gameplay should be target in children with a pro-arrhythmic cardiac diagnosis, and in any child with a history of exertional syncope of undetermine etiology. Further, any future screening programs aim at identifying athletes at risk for malignant arrhythmias should encompass athletes being consider for participation in eSports.”
