Electronic Gaming and Life-Threatening Ventricular Arrhythmias
Two peer-reviewed articles report 5 cases of syncope due to ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF)
while playing electronic games. All 5 cases were boys aged between 9-16. The underlying arrhythmogenic conditions include
catecholaminergic polymorphic VT (CPVT), long QT syndrome, complex congenital heart disease s/p surgery, and idiopathic VF.
Three-channel 24-hour ambulatory Holter monitoring shows continuous polymorphic ventricular tachycardia at 200–230 BPM in
a 9 year-old boy with CPVT playing of the Fortnite™ video game.
Increases in adrenergic stimulation associated with the powerful emotions of electronic gaming,
are proposed as the mechanism for this phenomenon.
