Abstract

Pectus excavatuum and straight back syndrome are reasons for witholding sports fitness certificates not because they necessarily impose functional limitations but because if unrecognised, such malformations can be wrongly diagnosed. In particular auscultatory murmurs, ECG alterations and morphovolumetric variations of the cardiovascular shadow can simulate a variety of cardiopathic pictures. Several of the most significant cases observed in a sports medicine practice over the past 5 years are presented with a discussion of the symptomatological characteristics of pectus excavatum and straight back. In particular, accentuated forms of pectus excavatum in association with straight back, poor ventilation may cause functional limitations in forms of demanding physical exercise. In these cases exercise spirometry is required to assess VO2max. Verf.-Referat