National Electrocardiography Screening for Competitive Athletes: Feasible in the United States?

Editorials2 March 2010National Electrocardiography Screening for Competitive Athletes: Feasible in the United States?Barry J. Maron, MDBarry J. Maron, MDFrom Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, Minneapolis, MN 55407.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-152-5-201003020-00012 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Sudden death in young persons, associated with participation in competitive athletics, has generated considerable visibility and concern in both the general public and medical community (1–7). Such deaths, particularly when associated with unsuspected cardiovascular disease, have become a prominent public health debate focused on strategies to prevent these catastrophes (8–11). Two primary prevention initiatives have evolved in an effort to create a safer athletic environment: preparticipation screening in athlete populations to identify the culprit diseases (3, 5, 12–17), and eligibility and disqualification standards to prohibit athletes identified with cardiovascular abnormalities from engaging in competitive sports to reduce their risk (2, ...References1. Maron BJ. Sudden death in young athletes. N Engl J Med. 2003;349:1064-75. [PMID: 12968091] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Pelliccia A, Fagard R, Bjørnstad HH, Anastassakis A, Arbustini E, Assanelli D, et al; Study Group of Sports Cardiology of the Working Group of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Physiology. 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Protecting athletes from sudden cardiac death [Editorial]. JAMA. 2006;296:1648-50. [PMID: 17018808] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar11. Maron BJ, Haas TS, Doerer JJ, Thompson PD, Hodges JS. Comparison of U.S. and Italian experiences with sudden cardiac deaths in young competitive athletes and implications for preparticipation screening strategies. Am J Cardiol. 2009;104:276-80. [PMID: 19576360] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar12. Corrado D, Basso C, Pavei A, Michieli P, Schiavon M, Thiene G. Trends in sudden cardiovascular death in young competitive athletes after implementation of a preparticipation screening program. JAMA. 2006;296:1593-601. [PMID: 17018804] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. Glover DW, Glover DW, Maron BJ. Evolution in the process of screening United States high school student-athletes for cardiovascular disease. Am J Cardiol. 2007;100:1709-12. [PMID: 18036373] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. Pfister GC, Puffer JC, Maron BJ. 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Cardiovascular screening in college athletes with and without electrocardiography. A cross-sectional study. Ann Intern Med. 2010;152:269-75. LinkGoogle Scholar19. Wheeler MT, Heidenreich PA, Froelicher VF, Hlatky MA, Ashley EA. Cost-effectiveness of preparticipation screening for prevention of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. Ann Intern Med. 2010;152:276-86. [PMID: 2816733] LinkGoogle Scholar20. Maron BJ, Gohman TE, Aeppli D. Prevalence of sudden cardiac death during competitive sports activities in Minnesota high school athletes. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1998;32:1881-4. [PMID: 9857867] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar21. Pelliccia A, DiPaolo FM, Corrado D, Buccolieri C, Quattrini FM, Pisicchio C, et al. Evidence for efficacy of the Italian national pre-participation screening programme for identification of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in competitive athletes. Eur Heart J. 2006;27:2196-200. [PMID: 16831826] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar22. Corrado D, Basso C, Schiavon M, Pelliccia A, Thiene G. Pre-participation screening of young competitive athletes for prevention of sudden cardiac death. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008;52:1981-9. [PMID: 19055989] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar23. Basso C, Maron BJ, Corrado D, Thiene G. Clinical profile of congenital coronary artery anomalies with origin from the wrong aortic sinus leading to sudden death in young competitive athletes. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2000;35:1493-501. [PMID: 10807452] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar24. Harris KM, Sponsel A, Hutter AM, Maron BJ. Brief communication: cardiovascular screening practices of major North American professional sports teams. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:507-11. [PMID: 17015868] LinkGoogle Scholar25. Choo JK, Abernethy WB, Hutter AM. Electrocardiographic observations in professional football players. Am J Cardiol. 2002;90:198-200. [PMID: 12106861] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, Minneapolis, MN 55407.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M09-2799.Corresponding Author: Barry J. Maron, MD, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center, Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, 920 East 28th Street, Suite 620, Minneapolis, MN 55407; e-mail, hcm.[email protected]org. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoCardiovascular Screening in College Athletes With and Without Electrocardiography Aaron L. Baggish , Adolph M. Hutter Jr. , Francis Wang , Kibar Yared , Rory B. Weiner , Eli Kupperman , Michael H. Picard , and Malissa J. Wood Cost-Effectiveness of Preparticipation Screening for Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes Matthew T. Wheeler , Paul A. Heidenreich , Victor F. Froelicher , Mark A. Hlatky , and Euan A. Ashley Should Electrocardiography Be Used in Cardiovascular Screening of High School Athletes? Steven A. Yarows and Frank A. Smith Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School Athletes Joseph C. Marek Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School Athletes Antonio Pelliccia and Domenico Corrado Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School Athletes Barry J. Maron Metrics Cited ByFeasibility of a Novel Strategy for Cardiovascular Screening During the Preparticipation Physical ExaminationChronicle of a death foretold. 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Marek, MDElectrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School AthletesAntonio Pelliccia, MD and Domenico Corrado, MD, PhDShould Electrocardiography Be Used in Cardiovascular Screening of High School Athletes?Steven A. Yarows, MD and Frank A. Smith, MD 2 March 2010Volume 152, Issue 5Page: 324-326KeywordsCardiomyopathiesCardiovascular diseasesElectrocardiographyGenetic diseasesHeartPopulation statisticsPrevention, policy, and public healthSpecificitySportsSports and exercise medicine ePublished: 2 March 2010 Issue Published: 2 March 2010 CopyrightCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...