Is Watching National Team Matches in World Cup Soccer 2014 on TV Associated with Increasing Ventricular Arrhythmia?

Abstract

Objective: It has been reported that psychological triggers such as emotional stress, increase the incidence of cardiovascular events. The association between soccer championships and the risk of cardiovascular events is still unclear. World Cup Soccer (WCS) involving the national team might be a strong enough trigger to induce cardiac arrhythmia. However, there are no reports which investigated the relationship between WCS and cardiac arrhythmia in the Japanese population.

Design: A multi-center retrospective observational study.

Methods: We assessed 25 patients who were evaluated ischemic changes and/or arrhythmia by 24-h Holter electrocardiography in 4 Cardiology Divisions during WCS 2014. The patients were divided into two groups [Watching group (n=7): patients who watched WCS on live-TV on June 20 (Japan vs. Greece) or July 25, 2014 (Japan vs. Colombia), and No-watching group (18 patients)]. Heart rates, arrhythmia, and ischemic changes were evaluated.

Results: There were no significant differences of clinical characteristics, frequency of premature atrial contractions, and ischemic changes between the two groups. Although there were no differences in total premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), the frequency of PVCs during matches (p<0.05) were significantly higher during live-TV in the Watching group than in the No-watching group. No sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation was observed.

Conclusions: A significant association between watching WCS and the frequency of PVCs was observed. These data suggest that emotional stress while watching national team soccer matches may induce stress-related cardiovascular events.