'Test athletes for heart problems'

Young athletes should be routinely tested for heart abnormalities to prevent sudden cardiac death that is triggered by vigorous exercise, according to Dutch research.

Sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of death in young athletes, but exactly how common it is is unknown as figures vary considerably and there is no mandatory reporting.


Screening for silent but potentially deadly heart abnormalities in athletes before they embark on a career in competitive sports has been the subject of considerable debate, according to the researchers.

The ‘Lausanne recommendations’, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) consensus paper, advocate taking a personal and medical history, a physical examination, and an electrocardiogram (ECG) for every young competitive athlete. 


However, critics claim that there are too many population differences between countries for these recommendations to be universally relevant, and that ECGs pick up too many ‘normal irregularities’ induced by the body’s adaptation to the demands of competitive sports - sparking unnecessary alarm and needless investigations.

The researchers applied the recommendations to 371 athletes between the ages of 12 and 35 over a period of two years. The results showed that ECG produced false positive results for 47 athletes (11%), which is an acceptable rate, and picked up problems in a further 10 (2%), of whom four were restricted from further participation in sport.


The authors of the research concluded that healthcare governing bodies should enact universal ECG screening of all young athletes and make the necessary provisions for nationwide screening programmes to commence.

The results of the research have been published on in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

[Posted: Tue 08/09/2009]