Cardiovascular screening is essential for athletes despite the fact that screening may be difficult. The unfortunate death of three individuals in the Detroit Marathon held on October 18th, 2009, prompted a new study published in the November/December issue of Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach, which addresses the issues of cardiovascular screening.
The study highlights the challenges involved in screening and provides a detailed overview of the guidelines and controversies involved in cardiovascular screening of athletes. According to study author Sharlene M. Day, MD, Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, and Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Program at the University of Michigan, the risk of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) is more than double in the case of athletes as compared to non-athletes. The study aims at identifying rare and clinically silent but potentially fatal cardiac diseases among athletes at different levels of competition. Dr. Day is of the opinion that such alarming statistics facilitates the need for cardiovascular disease screening amongst athletes. Athletes need to be more aware of the importance of reporting any symptoms that may be related to heart diseases.
The study recommends cardiac screening by a physician and that a physical examination ought to take place prior to training. If a physician is not available, the sports medicine staff are required to refer any athlete who shows any symptoms of heart disease. Dr. Day reiterated the fact the purpose of pre-participation screening was to identify athletes that are potentially at risk for SCD.
The study also recommends that cardiovascular disease screening become mandatory for youth sports, since there are over 12 million youth competing at various levels in athletics. Dr. Day rues the fact that the examination still lacks sensitivity as far as the risk of SCD is concerned. Whether an ECG will have a significant impact on the rate of SCD in US athletes is still unclear, as compared to Italy. Dr. Day expresses the fact that the country does not have national resources to deal with ECG administration, interpretation, and follow up tests. Cardiovascular disease screening is still a controversial issue as far as athletes are concerned.
Sports Health is published bimonthly, in collaboration with the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), and the Sports Physical Therapy Section (SPTS). Other organizations include the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine (AOASM).
