Key result
A 16-year-old elite athlete who suffered sudden cardiac arrest during training was successfully resuscitated with CPR and defibrillation, and subsequently diagnosed with long QT syndrome.
Why the study?
Sudden death in young, apparently healthy athletes while participating in sports remains an ongoing concern that is difficult to understand and often receives considerable media attention.
Does pre-participation medical examination prevent sudden death in young athletes?
Case Report (n=1)
Does pre-participation medical examination prevent sudden death in young athletes?
Pre-participation medical screening including ECG is proposed to reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.
Case of resuscitated SCA with LQTS diagnosis leaves open whether pre-participation ECG screening prevents sudden death in young athletes.
Background: Both competitive and recreational sports are considered a positive practice that is good for human health and quality of life, so it is difficult to understand how young, energetic and apparently healthy people can die while playing their usual sports. When these events occur in elite athletes during monitored events, they normally receive considerable media attention. Objective: To describe the case of sudden death in a young professional athlete who was successfully aided and resuscitated outside our hospital, and to review the literature about sudden death in sports. Materials and Method: We searched for Sudden Death (according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9 and ICD-10)) in our hospital but found no other relevant cases. We performed a literature search on the state of the art in sudden death (Google Scholar, PubMed, LILACS, Scielo and the Revista Española de Cardiología). Results: Although we observed that the prevalence of sudden death is not very high, it still represents a potentially avoidable event. An adequate medical examination prior to regular sporting practice can decrease the incidence of sudden death in athletes under the age of 35. Data available in the literature support medical check-ups that include history-taking, physical examination and electrocardiogram. The findings of this evaluation may also prompt further assessment (electrocardiograph, ergometry). Conclusions: We could not identify standard, obligatory guidelines for screening possible heart diseases causing cardiorespiratory failure and sudden death. As a measure for primary prevention, we propose a protocol for reducing the risk of sudden death in athletes.
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Caparrós-Hernández et al. (2019) conducted a case report in Sudden cardiac arrest (n=1). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation was evaluated on Resuscitation and survival. A 16-year-old elite athlete who suffered sudden cardiac arrest during training was successfully resuscitated with CPR and defibrillation, and subsequently diagnosed with long QT syndrome.