A new study shows that video games could endanger vulnerable kids with cardiac arrhythmias or heart issues. The researchers said that it could cause players to lose consciousness while playing video games.
The findings were published in the Heart Rhythm Society journal and reported by Gagdets360. Claire M. Lawley, MBBS, PhD, the lead investigator in the study, said that while they may pose a serious risk to kids with arrhythmic conditions, they could be lethal to those with previously unrecognized arrhythmic conditions.
Lawley claims that when a child loses consciousness for no explainable reason while playing video games, parents or guardians should take them to a heart specialist for assessment.
According to the report, out of the 22 cases that they found, multiplayer war gaming was the most common culprit. Some kids passed away after suffering cardiac arrest while playing the games.
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In addition, the research also showed that most of the cases, about 63 percent of them, were hereditary. There was a case where a child was diagnosed after losing consciousness playing video games and when family members were also tested, there were having a similar heart rhythm issue.
The cause of losing consciousness was traced to the fact that some games cause adrenergic stimulation. And, it is important because many parents with kids who have heart rhythm issues believe that physically exerting activities, like sport, is the only danger that they face.
“We already know that some children have heart conditions that can put them at risk when playing competitive sports, but we were shocked to discover that some patients were having life-threatening blackouts during video gaming,” Christian Turner, another investigator on the study said.
One other vital point that the research shows is that the phenomenon is becoming more prevalent, and although it is rare, it could spread. Likely, because game technology is becoming better and eliciting sharper response from gamers.
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