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Cardiac Arrest in Athletes

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Sports Cardiology

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Abstract

Sudden cardiac arrest in an athlete is often attributable to physical activity that is, paradoxically, endured to enhance the strength and survivability of the athlete. This paradox beckons a more comprehensive collective understanding of the impact exercise imparts on health. While rare, sudden cardiac arrest and subsequent sudden cardiac death present within several subsets of athletes. This chapter reviews the incidence and known leading causes of sudden cardiac death among athletes. With worldwide consensus among experts remaining elusive, this chapter concisely summarizes all available data on the efficacy of pre-competition screening aimed to identify at-risk athletes to prevent the occurrence of sudden cardiac arrest/death. Beyond detection, management strategies for prompt resolution of these cardiac events, such as the implementation of emergency response system protocols and the use of automated external defibrillators, will similarly be reviewed and summarized herein.

Till in he broke: ‘Rejoice, we conquer!’ Like wine thro’ clay,

Joy in his blood bursting his heart, he died – the bliss!

—Robert Browning, “Pheidippides” (1879)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiology, VA Pittsburgh Health System, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Brian J. Cross

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

    Shayna Weinshel

  3. Heart and Vascular Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Marc Estes

Authors
  1. Brian J. Cross
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  2. Shayna Weinshel
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  3. Marc Estes
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marc Estes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    David J. Engel

  2. Sports Cardiology Center, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Dermot M. Phelan

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Cross, B.J., Weinshel, S., Estes, M. (2021). Cardiac Arrest in Athletes. In: Engel, D.J., Phelan, D.M. (eds) Sports Cardiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69384-8_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69384-8_21

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