High g-Force Rollercoaster Rides Induce Sinus Tachycardia but No Cardiac Arrhythmias in Healthy Children

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.