[Results of electrocardiographic examinations and exercise tests in 18 year old male recruits (author's transl)].

Electrocardiographical changes in athletes and their prognostic significance are well documented. In untrained normal young adults however this subject is far less investigated. A similar deficiency exists in interpreting the results of exercise tests in young untrained people. In order to establish some normal values of important parameters of electrocardiogram and exercise testing in this population, we evaluated 298 electrocardiograms and 219 exercise test protocols as obtained by a draft board of the Austrian Army. All probands were 18-years-old males without special training. In contrast to athletes, sinusbradycardia, arrhythmia and extrasystoles are rare events in untrained young males. The QRS-axis most frequently was between 60 and 90 degrees. The upper limit of the normal range of the PR-interval was 0.18 sec and of the sum of Sv1 plus Rv5 5.6 mV. The amplitude of the T wave in V5 ranged from 2 to 46 percent of the amplitude of the R wave in this lead. As the most suitable exercise test for such a screening examination the physical working capacity at a heart rate of 170 (PWC 170) was chosen. The mean value of the PWC 170 was 186 +/- 50 watt, i.e. 2.7 +/- 0.7 watt x kg-1 body weight. Furthermore, the normal range of the working heart rate at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 watt x kg-1 body weight and of the rise of systolic blood pressure during exercise were determined. This study suggests that electrocardiographical alterations are very rare in untrained young people (4.4 percent), and their detection should always be followed by an intensive cardiological examination. The assessment of the working capacity by means of the PCW 170-test may be useful in arranging special training programs and may help to avoid physical overload of young people.