Preparticipation screening for cardiovascular abnormalities in young competitive athletes

doi:10.1136/bmj.a1596

Published 29 September 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1596
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1596

Clinical Review

Preparticipation screening for cardiovascular abnormalities in young competitive athletes

Michael Papadakis, cardiac research registrar¹^,2, Greg Whyte, professor of sports sciences³, Sanjay Sharma, consultant cardiologist, and director of heart muscle diseases¹^,2

¹ King’s College Hospital, London SE5 9RS, ² University Hospital Lewisham, London, ³ CRY Sports Cardiology Centre, Olympic Medical Institute, Northwick Park Hospital, Middlesex

Correspondence to: S Sharma ssharma21@hotmail.com

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The cardiovascular benefits of regular physical exercise arewell established.¹ However, a small proportion of young ( $≤$ 35years) athletes with unsuspected heart disease are at increasedrisk of exercise related sudden cardiac death.² The majorityof such deaths are attributable to cardiac anomalies,² ³ ⁴ mostof which can be identified during life. A range of therapeuticstrategies can be implemented to prevent fatalities, raisingsupport for screening young athletes in medical and sportingcommunities.⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹ The efficacy, cost effectiveness, andimpact of false positive tests of preparticipation screeningstrategies are, however, controversial. This article providesa factual overview of preparticipation screening, as more generalpractitioners are likely to be confronted with the questionsrelating to cardiovascular screening in athletes in countrieswhere systematic screening programmes are currently not available.

Regular exercise is beneficial and only a smallnumber of athletes with silent cardiovascular disease are atincreased risk of sudden cardiac . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

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Who will pay?: M Justin S Zaman
bmj.com, 15 Oct 2008 [Full text]
Preparticipation screening of athletes - an effective tactic?: Roy J. Shephard
bmj.com, 6 Nov 2008 [Full text]