Sudden cardiac death in young athletes

doi:10.1136/bmj.a309

Published 3 July 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a309
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a309

Editorials

Sudden cardiac death in young athletes

Evidence supports a systematic screening programme before participation

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Which screening strategy should be used to identify young athletesat risk for sudden cardiac death is a highly controversial matter.For many years the medical community has disputed the cost effectiveness,feasibility, and accuracy of including 12 lead electrocardiographyin the cardiovascular screening of athletes. Discordant recommendationsfrom the American Heart Association and the European Societyof Cardiology have fuelled a global debate about the usefulnessof such screening in athletes.¹ ² In the linked study, Sofiand colleagues analyse data from 30 065 Italian athletes whounderwent a complete pre-participation cardiovascular evaluationincluding resting and exercise electrocardiography.³

Sudden cardiac death in young athletes (<35 years) is causedby a diverse set of structural diseases of the heart (such ascardiomyopathies) and electrical defects (such as ion channelopathies).In the United States alone, one young competitive athlete diesevery three days from an unrecognised cardiovascular disorder.⁴American and European authorities . . . [Full text of this article]

Jonathan A Drezner, associate professor¹, Karim Khan, associate professor²

¹ Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, WA 98195, USA, ² Centre for Hip Health and Mobility and Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

jdrezner@fammed.washington.edu

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Prakken, N H, Velthuis, B K, Cramer, M J, Mosterd, A (2009). Advances in cardiac imaging: the role of magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography in identifying athletes at risk. Br. J. Sports. Med. 43: 677-684 [Abstract] [Full text]
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Rapid Responses:

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