Electrocardiographic features at rest and during exercise in young adults born preterm below 30 weeks of gestation

Background Preterm birth has adverse consequences on the cardiovascular system. Whether premature birth is associated with conduction and repolarisation abnormalities past childhood and into adulthood still needs to be demonstrated. Methods We analyzed the ECG of young adults (23.9 ± 3.1 years) born term (≥37 weeks, n = 53) and preterm (<30 weeks, n = 49) at rest, peak exercise and 3 min into recovery during an exercise test on a cycle ergometer. We measured PR, QRS and QT intervals, calculated the corrected QT (QTc), and determined blood calcium, magnesium, potassium and fasting glucose. Results Mean gestational age was 39.7 ± 1.1 and 27.3 ± 1.3 weeks for the term and the preterm groups, respectively. Apart from an increased heart rate at rest in individuals born preterm, no significant difference was found between both groups for any other ECG parameters at rest. None of the participants had a severely prolonged QTc (>500 ms) at rest; exercise revealed severely prolonged QTc in two participants including one in the preterm group. The use of QT-prolonging medications did not influence ECG parameters in either groups. Conclusions We observed no significant difference in electrocardiographic measurements between young adults born preterm and term. Current results do not support avoidance of QT-prolonging medications in individuals born preterm. Impact Preterm birth is associated with adverse cardiovascular consequences in early adulthood, but controversial evidence exists regarding differences in electrocardiographic features between young individuals born term and preterm. This study aims to assess the differences in electrocardiographic features between young adults born term and preterm, at rest and during exercise training. In contrast with previously published data, we observed no significant difference in electrocardiographic measurements between young adults born preterm and term. Our study does not support that preterm birth itself exposes young adults to a higher risk of QT prolongation. Current results do not support avoidance of QT-prolonging medications in individuals born preterm.