Gaming can kill kids with undiagnosed heart problems, scientists say

According to a scientific report, playing video games can cause life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias in children with undiagnosed heart disease.

Investigators said they uncovered an unusual but clear pattern in children who lose consciousness while playing electronic games.

They warned that Call of Duty-style multiplayer wargames are the most common trigger for such episodes.

And in the report, published in Heart Rhythm journal, scientists urged parents to take children suffering from blackouts to a heart specialist.

“Video games may pose a serious risk to some children with cardiac arrhythmia; they could be fatal in patients with predisposing but often previously unrecognized cardiac arrhythmias,” said lead researcher and specialist Dr. Claire M Lawley.

“Children who suddenly lose consciousness while playing electronic games should be evaluated by a heart specialist as this could be the first sign of a serious heart problem.”

She and her team conducted a systematic review of related literature along with other research to identify cases of children with sudden loss of consciousness while playing video games.

In the 22 cases found, multiplayer wargame was the most common trigger – and some of the children died after cardiac arrest.

Cardiac arrhythmias including catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) and congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) types 1 and 2 were the most common underlying causes.

And the study also found a high incidence of potentially relevant genetic variants (63%) among the patients, which the scientists warned had a significant impact on their families.

In some cases, children losing consciousness while playing resulted in many family members being diagnosed with an important familial heart rhythm problem.

“Families and healthcare teams should consider safety precautions related to electronic gaming in children who have a condition that puts dangerously fast heart rhythms at risk,” said Dr. Lawley.

The scientists pointed out that video games are not always the “safe alternative” to competitive sports that they are often considered to be.

They said that many of the patients were in agitated states at the time of the heart attacks, had just won or lost games, or were conflicted with their companions.

“We were shocked”

“We already know that some children have heart conditions that can put them at risk when competing, but we were shocked to find that some patients had life-threatening blackouts while playing video games,” added co-investigator Christian Turner.

“Video games were something I used to think would be an alternative ‘safe activity’. This is a really important discovery. We need to make sure everyone knows the importance of getting checked out if someone has had a blackout episode in these circumstances.”

And while the phenomenon isn’t common, the study found that it’s becoming more common.

“Having cared for children with arrhythmias for more than 25 years, I was amazed to see how widespread this emerging presentation is and to find that a number of children have even died from it,” said co-researcher Dr. Jonathan Skinner.

It added that individuals being considered to compete in eSports should be screened for possible medical conditions in the same way as athletes in traditional sports.