Cardiovascular screening advised for young athletes

	Tweet

Young athletes in Europe should be screened before competing in events to detect heart problems and reduce sport-related deaths, health experts said on Wednesday.

A European Society of Cardiology report recommends a physical examination, a complete medical history and an electrocardiogram (ECG), which provides an electrical recording of the heart.

The report, which is published in the European Heart Journal, estimates that an ECG could cut heart deaths linked to competitive sports in Europe by an estimated 50 to 70 percent.

“We know very little about the risk of sudden death associated with exercise in young competitors, so the benefits versus the hazards of sports activity pose a clinical dilemma,” said Dr. Domenico Corrado, of the University of Padua, in Italy.

Athletes train to be in top form but Corrado said an Italian study revealed that adolescents and young adults involved in competitive sports have a 2.5 times higher risk of sudden death.

In Italy, sports-related sudden cardiac death occurs in approximately 2 per 100,000 athletes per year. Estimates for other European countries are not available.

“The young competitors who died suddenly were affected by silent cardiovascular diseases,” he said in a statement.

Italy and the United States have screening tests for athletes but an ECG is done at the doctor’s discretion in the United States.

Corrado defended the importance of an ECG, saying it shows abnormal results in up to 95 percent of patients with a condition called hypertropic cardiomyopathy (HCM), in which the muscle of the heart is abnormal because of an unknown reason.

HCM is a leading cause of sudden death in an athlete.

The report suggests screening should begin between the ages of 12 and 14, and should be repeated every 2 years. If someone shows signs of a problem they should be referred to a specialist, according to the report.

“It is ethically and clinically justifiable to make every effort to recognize in good time the diseases that put these athletes at risk, and to reduce fatalities,” Corrado said.

RELATED STORIES:
Cardiac CT Is More Cost Effective When Managing Chest Pain in the Emergency Department   Popular Arthritis Drug May Disrupt Heart Rhythm, UB Research Finds   Tamoxifen lowers risk of cardiovascular disease   Waist size linked to future heart trouble - studies   Moderate alcohol use not bad after heart attack   Carbon monoxide often damages heart   Boston Scientific, J&J stents aid high-risk cases   80-year-olds do well with heart artery bypass   Clinton: Haiti stress accelerated heart problem   Lots of pregnancies linked to a healthier heart   Antibiotic interaction may raise heart death risk   Sleep apnea raises cardiac risk in men

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]