How to Keep Athletes Safe from Sudden Heart Death
Sudden Cardiac Death in Famous Athletes, Lessons Learned, Heterogeneity in Expert Recommendations and Pitfalls of Contemporary Screening Strategies.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Sometimes young athletes have heart attacks during sports. Some countries check hearts with ECGs before playing, which may prevent deaths. But these checks often give false alarms. Having defibrillators ready and knowing CPR saves more lives when a heart stops.
Surprising Findings
It takes screening about 2,000 athletes to find just one case of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common cause of sudden heart death in young athletes.
Most people assume widespread heart screening is efficient, but it leads to many false alarms and unnecessary stress for athletes and families.
Practical Takeaways
Advocate for AEDs in your school, gym, or sports league and ensure staff are trained in CPR.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Sometimes young athletes have heart attacks during sports. Some countries check hearts with ECGs before playing, which may prevent deaths. But these checks often give false alarms. Having defibrillators ready and knowing CPR saves more lives when a heart stops.
Surprising Findings
It takes screening about 2,000 athletes to find just one case of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common cause of sudden heart death in young athletes.
Most people assume widespread heart screening is efficient, but it leads to many false alarms and unnecessary stress for athletes and families.
Practical Takeaways
Advocate for AEDs in your school, gym, or sports league and ensure staff are trained in CPR.
Publication
Journal
Journal of atrial fibrillation
Year
2019
Authors
Trent Bickel, P. Gunasekaran, G. Murtaza, R. Gopinathannair, S. Gunda, Dhanunjaya R. Lakkireddy