Abstract
Particularly intense exercise or sports competition may predispose athletes to an increased risk of sudden death or other major heart events. An underlying heart disease is responsible for the majority of sudden deaths in athletes. A cardiac preparticipation evaluation could minimize these events by identifying subjects at risk and not approving those at risk from taking part in competitive sports. The general recommendations for preparticipation screening include a thorough personal and family clinical history and physical examination of the athlete. This screening, complemented when recommended by electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, nuclear magnetic resonance, and genetic testing, should be able to recognize the most important causes of sudden death like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, that is, the most common cause of sudden death in athletes, Marfan syndrome, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy or dysplasia, long QT syndrome, preexcitation syndrome, Brugada syndrome or other ion channel diseases, clinically important arrhythmias, and congenital coronary artery anomalies.
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von Hafe, P., Freitas, J., Costa, O. (2017). From Cardiac Preparticipation Evaluation to Sudden Cardiac Death. In: van Dijk, C., Neyret, P., Cohen, M., Della Villa, S., Pereira, H., Oliveira, J. (eds) Injuries and Health Problems in Football . Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-53924-8_45
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-53924-8_45
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