Theme park operators and medical professionals advise children with heart conditions against using rollercoaster rides, but these recommendations are not evidence-based. The underlying assumption is that the combination of adrenergic stimulation through stress and acceleration might trigger arrhythmias in susceptible individuals. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study to assess heart rate and rhythm in healthy children during commercial rollercoaster rides. Twenty healthy children (9 male) aged 11-15 (mean 13.3 ± 1.4) years underwent continuous heart rate and rhythm monitoring (2-lead ECG) from 5 min before until 10 min after each of 4 high speed (>50 km h-1), high g-force (>4) commercial rollercoaster rides. Total recording time was 13 h 20 min. No arrhythmic events were detected. Resting heart rate was 81 ± 10 b min-1 and increased to 158 ± 20 b·min-1 during rides. The highest mean HR (165 ± 23 b min-1) was observed on the ride with the lowest g-force (4.5 g), but one of the highest speeds (100 km h-1). Anticipatory tachycardia (126 ± 15 b min-1) within 5 min was frequently observed. A 10 min recovery HR (124 ± 17 b min-1) was 56 % greater than resting HR. The speed and g-force experienced on roller coasters induce sinus tachycardia but do not elicit pathological arrhythmias in healthy children.
Keywords: Arrhythmia; Cardiology; Rollercoaster; g-force.