Usefulness of echocardiography in preparticipation screening of competitive athletes.

Comments on the usefulness of echocardiography in preparticipation screening of competitive athletes.

Should an electrocardiogram be included in routine preparticipation screening of young athletes? An Electrocardiogram Should Not Be Included in Routine Preparticipation Screening of Young Athletes

The sudden death of a young athlete during competition is a tragic yet rare occurrence that results in significant public and media attention. Increased catecholamine response to maximum stress in subjects with underlying structural heart disease is a well-known cause of lethal cardiac arrhythmias.1 In 1996, the American Heart Association issued a scientific statement advocating universal cardi...

Noninvasive Cardiac Screening in Young Athletes With Ventricular Arrhythmias

The aim of this study was to analyze using noninvasive cardiac examinations a series of young athletes discovered to have ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) during the preparticipation screening program for competitive sports. One hundred forty-five athletes (mean age 17 ± 5 years) were evaluated. The study protocol included electrocardiography (ECG), exercise testing, 2-dimensional and Doppler echo...

Cardiovascular Preparticipation Screening in Young Athletes

Cardiovascular (CV) screening in young competitive athletes is recommended by the majority of medical and sports governing organizations. There is, however, substantial controversy surrounding the most appropriate screening protocol and whether to add a resting 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) to the preparticipation history and physical examination. Rather than continue polarized debates and co...

Electrocardiograms should be included in preparticipation screening of athletes.

Among the adolescent and young adult population, the absolute risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is low, whereas the benefits of identifying predisposing conditions and preventing SCA are disproportionately large.1,2 Competitive athletes included within this population subgroup are at higher risk of SCA than expected for the general population in this age category.3–5 Recently, there has been ...