The preparticipation physical evaluation is a commonly requested medical visit for amateur and professional athletes of all ages. The overarching goal is to maximize the health of athletes and their safe participation in sports. Although studies have not found that the preparticipation physical evaluation prevents morbidity and mortality associated with sports, it may detect conditions that pre...

The present consensus panel recommendations of the 36th Bethesda Conference for eligibility and disqualification of competitive athletes are predicated on the prior diagnosis of cardiovascular abnormalities. However, the methodology by which these diseases are identified (including preparticipation screening) and how athletes come to evaluation for competitive eligibility, may involve several s...

Primary care providers often are asked to perform the preparticipation physical exam and cardiac screening of pediatric athletes. It can be challenging to evaluate which athletes may require further cardiac evaluation and specialist referral based on a focused history and physical. There is considerable controversy surrounding mass electrocardiogram (ECG) screening of athletes in the United Sta...

At the broadest level, consensus preparticipation recommendations for athletes of all ages focus on performance of a history and physical examination, with the additional performance of a screening test being more controversial. Depending upon athlete age and the associated prevalence of etiologies of cardiac death, differences exist regarding specific targets for the history and physical and f...

1 of 2 DESCRIPTION A young Caucasian female professional athlete underwent a 12-lead ECG as a part of preparticipation cardiovascular screening. She trained and exercised for an average 20 h per week. There were no symptoms or relevant family history reported, and cardiovascular examination was normal. The ECG exhibited T-wave inversion in the inferior and lateral leads ( fi gure 1 ). These ECG...

INTRODUCTION Sports clubs form a potential setting for health promotion, but the research is limited. The aim of the Health Promoting Sports Club (HPSC) study was to elucidate the current health promotion activities of youth sports clubs and coaches, and to investigate the health behaviours and health status of youth participating in sports clubs compared to non-participants. METHODS AND ANAL...

OBJECTIVES Scarce data exist on blood pressure (BP) and secondary effects in young athletes. Hence, we aimed to study prevalence of high BP (≥140/90 mmHg) and the association to arterial compliance, left ventricle mass and left atrium volume. METHODS A Norwegian preparticipation cardiac screening of male professional football players enrolled 493 white European, 47 matched controls, 49 black ...

Sudden cardiac death is a rare but devastating event. The majority of cases in young athletes are caused by congenital cardiac abnormalities that are routinely clinically silent before causing sudden death. An optimal screening practice to help identify underlying asymptomatic cardiac abnormalities has met with much debate. Beyond the American Heart Association's recommendations for cardiovascu...