Sudden cardiac death and sports

Sports cardiology: preventing sudden cardiac death.

The sudden death of an athlete on the playing field remains one of the most striking and tragic events in sport. For the sports physician, the occurrence of an athlete in sudden cardiac arrest is both unforgettable and terrifying. Well-known cases such as Hank Gathers (1990), Marc-Vivien Foé (2003) and Fabrice Muamba (2012), provide graphic examples of an athlete enduring this deadly crisis—col...

Sports, energy drinks, and sudden cardiac death: stimulant cardiac syndrome

Sudden Cardiac Death Epidemiology and Genetics of Sudden Cardiac Death

From the Section of Electrophysiology, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (R.D.); Division of Preventive Medicine and Cardiovascular Medicine, Center for Arrhythmia Prevention, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (C.M.A.). Correspondence to Christine M. Albert, MD, MPH, Division of Preventive Medicine and Cardiovascular Medicine, Center for Ar...

Sudden cardiac arrest during sports.

Exercise can trigger an acute cardiac event which may precipitate sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). On the other hand, exercise is important for physical fitness and prevention of cardiovascular disease, and the medical community should therefore inform the general public of the health benefits of sports and exercise. At the same time, the public are exposed to alarmist mass media coverage of athlet...

Sudden Cardiac Death Sudden Cardiac Death in the Athlete

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in a young athlete commonly brings to the forefront the many gaps in knowledge regarding how to predict and prevent these rare tragic events.1–3 Although the number of athletic sudden deaths is relatively small, with 100 to 150 competitive deaths during sports in the United States annually, they represent an important and emotionally charged public health issue, perha...