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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Screening is inefficient and too expensive for the NHS: Jonathan R Hanson
BMJ 2008 337: a906. [Extract] [Full Text]

Medicalising sport will yield unintended results: Laurie R Davis
BMJ 2008 337: a909. [Extract] [Full Text]

Olympic dreams: Domhnall MacAuley
BMJ 2008 337: a739. [Extract] [Full Text]

Cardiovascular evaluation, including resting and exercise electrocardiography, before participation in competitive sports: cross sectional study: Francesco Sofi, Andrea Capalbo, Nicola Pucci, Jacopo Giuliattini, Francesca Condino, Flavio Alessandri, Rosanna Abbate, Gian Franco Gensini, and Sergio Califano
BMJ 2008 337: a346. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

Khan, K. (2008). Three immediately applicable treatments: manual therapy, avoiding cortisone, and automatic external defibrillators. Br. J. Sports. Med. 42: 627-627 [Full text]
Hanson, J. R (2008). Screening is inefficient and too expensive for the NHS. BMJ 337: a906-a906 [Full text]
Davis, L. R (2008). Medicalising sport will yield unintended results. BMJ 337: a909-a909 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Resus is the answer, screening inefficient and too expensive for the NHS: Jonathan R Hanson
bmj.com, 12 Jul 2008 [Full text]
Unintended Consequences: Laurie R. Davis
bmj.com, 13 Jul 2008 [Full text]
Should young athletes be screened?: Julian Elston, et al.
bmj.com, 18 Jul 2008 [Full text]
Detect risk with Automate Exercise ECG: C. Kevin Connolly
bmj.com, 18 Jul 2008 [Full text]
The disputable role of exercise electrocardiography in preparticipation screening of young athletes: Christian van der Werf, et al.
bmj.com, 11 Aug 2008 [Full text]