Abstract
Ephedrine is a sympathomimetic substance used by sportsmen as a doping substance because of its stimulating and slimming effects. We report two cases of ventricular arrhythmias induced by abuse of ephedrine in two competitive athletes. Endomyocardial biopsies guided by electroanatomic mapping revealed contraction-band necrosis, a myocardial injury frequently observed in cases of catecholamine excess. Our cases suggest that long-term abuse of ephedrine may result in myocardial damage, and that these structural alterations may promote areas of slow conduction favoring re-entrant ventricular tachyarrhythmias and a long-lasting risk of ventricular arrhythmias.
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Athletes*
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Bicycling
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Biopsy
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Boxing
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Catheter Ablation
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Competitive Behavior*
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Doping in Sports*
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Electrocardiography
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Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac
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Ephedrine / adverse effects*
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Humans
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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Male
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Performance-Enhancing Substances / adverse effects*
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Predictive Value of Tests
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Risk Factors
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Substance-Related Disorders / complications*
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Tachycardia, Ventricular / chemically induced*
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Tachycardia, Ventricular / diagnosis
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Tachycardia, Ventricular / surgery
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Treatment Outcome
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Ventricular Premature Complexes / chemically induced*
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Ventricular Premature Complexes / diagnosis
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Ventricular Premature Complexes / surgery
Substances
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Performance-Enhancing Substances
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Ephedrine