Young Athletes Have Higher Risk of Sudden Death

A study has found that young athletes are more than twice as likely to experience sudden death as their nonathletic counterparts. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Padova Medical School (Italy), was presented at the 2001 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association in Anaheim (CA, USA).

The researchers investigated the incidence of fatal events in the athletes and nonathletes aged 12-35 in the Veneto region of Italy from 1979 to 1999. All the athletes had undergone mandatory sports screenings, including personal and family history and a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). The estimated risk of sudden death was found to be 2.5 times higher in athletes than in nonathletes. The study also identified the conditions most likely to cause sudden death in young athletes, including congenital heart abnormality (risk of sudden death 78.4 times higher than in nonathletes) and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (risk of sudden death 5.5 times higher).

The data should not discourage young people from participating in sports, say the researchers, but should point to the need for more extensive screening methods for young athletes. "In young people, cardiovascular diseases that usually are silent account for a higher risk of sudden death during sports,” said Domenico Corrado, M.D., consultant in clinical cardiology and electrophysiology and author of the study. "Preparticipation screening is important in identifying the athletes affected by these potentially lethal conditions.”




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Univ. of Padova