Athletes sudden cardiac death

Preparticipation cardiovascular screening (PPCS) in young athletes is performed to detect conditions associated with sudden cardiac death. Many medical societies and sports governing bodies support the addition of a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) to the history and physical to improve PPCS sensitivity. The current standard for ECG interpretation in athletes, the International Criteria, was developed to distinguish physiologic from pathologic ECG findings in athletes. Although application of the International Criteria has reduced the PPCS false-positive rate, interpretative challenges and potential areas of improvement remain...

Low QRS voltages (LQRSV), defined as a QRS amplitude from peak to nadir <0.5 mV in all limb leads, are an emerging diagnostic finding on the electrocardiogram (ECG). In healthy individuals and athletes, LQRSV are rare (2.2-4% of elite athletes, 0.5% of recreational athletes and 0.3% of sedentary individuals). LQRSV athletes commonly show ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) on exercise, and up to 40% of those with LQRSV and VAs have late gadolinium (LGE) on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). The prevalence of LQRSV in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) ranges 17-40%, predicts left ventricular (LV) involvement, and is correlated with more extensive LGE replacement on CMR...

OBJECTIVE: Evidence on the increased risk of sports-related sudden cardiac arrest and death (SCA/D) and the potential benefit of cardiovascular preparticipation screening (PPS) in children is limited. We assessed the burden and circumstances of SCA/D and the diagnostic yield of cardiovascular PPS in children aged 8-15 years. METHODS: Data on the incidence and causes of SCA/D from 2011 to 2020 were obtained from the Veneto region (Italy) sudden death registry, hospital records and local press...

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes is generally rare, but a serious complication of cardiovascular events during exercise. Although regular intensive physical exercise is thought to be a key to a healthy life, unsuspected pathologies might lead to SCD during or after physical activity. Cardiac dysfunction and elevated cardiac markers have been reported after prolonged exercise. We sought to clarify the cardiac marker levels and hydration status in healthy, middle-aged male subjects for 24 hours after running sixty-minute at race-pace...

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Athletes epitomize the healthiest segment of society. Despite this premise, sudden cardiac death may occur in apparently healthy athletes, attracting significant attention not only in the medical community but also in laypersons and media. The incidence of sudden cardiac death is variably reported, and epidemiological burden differs among cohorts. Athletes appear to be at risk of developing fatal arrhythmias when harboring a quiescent cardiac disorder. Primary cardiomyopathies, ion channelopathies, and coronary artery anomalies are prevalent causes in young individuals...

UNLABELLED: Athletes carry an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) conditions. Due to the relatively high loads and intensity of the training process, athletes' CV systems undergo various adaptations, which can combine in the future and provoke unexpected outcomes. Most CV screening protocols have several successive steps. The aim of our study was to perform a cardiological functional assessment of the National Olympic Team of Kazakhstan via several noninvasive protocols to close the gaps between the approaches and collect solid data for the prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD) incidence among Kazakhstani athletes...

BACKGROUND: Exercise-induced cardiac remodeling can be profound, resulting in clinical overlap with dilated cardiomyopathy, yet the significance of reduced ejection fraction (EF) in athletes is unclear. The aim is to assess the prevalence, clinical consequences, and genetic predisposition of reduced EF in athletes. METHODS: Young endurance athletes were recruited from elite training programs and underwent cardiac phenotyping, genetic analyses and clinical events were recorded over a mean of 4...

BACKGROUND: Present article aims at clarifying the association of ACE and ACTN3 polymorphisms with adaptive heart changes in elite athletes from power, endurance and mixed sport disciplines using the principal component analysis (PCA). METHODS: Overall, 281 elite male athletes are divided into three groups: strength-type sports, endurance and mixed sports. After anthropometric measurements, physical and ultrasound examination of the heart, the athletes were exposed to a physical load test...

Amidst the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, myocarditis in athletes has demanded increased attention primarily because of the risk of sudden cardiac death. While most athletes who experience myocardial inflammation recover, extensive measures for screening and diagnosis are taken because of the possibility of cardiac necrosis, fibrosis, and remodeling. Several risk factors have been identified that may contribute to the development of this inflammatory response, predominantly a history of viral or bacterial upper-respiratory infections...

Athletes are commonly advised not to compete or train during major symptoms of a viral acute respiratory illness (ARI) which most commonly is a common cold. It has been traditionally thought that heavy physical stress could induce the worsening of symptoms of ARI and possibly cause potentially severe complications like myocarditis or sudden cardiac death (SCD). In addition, viral ARI may decrease athlete's performance.1 These concerns have been recently stressed during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic...

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (AC) is an inherited disorder characterized by progressive loss of the ventricular myocardium causing life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, syncope and sudden cardiac death in young and athletes. About 40% of AC cases carry one or more mutations in genes encoding for desmosomal proteins, including Desmoplakin (Dsp). We present here the first stable Dsp knock-out (KO) zebrafish line able to model cardiac alterations and cell signalling dysregulation, characteristic of the AC disease, on which environmental factors and candidate drugs can be tested...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic myocardial disease, with an estimated incidence of 0.2%-6%, and is the main cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young athletes. Left ventricular apical aneurysm (LVAA) is a rare subtype of HCM, accounting for about 5% of HCM patients, and has a higher incidence of cardiovascular adverse events. In cases of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy with LVAA (HOCM-LVAA) that do not respond adequately to optimized medical therapy, the echocardiography-guided percutaneous intra-myocardial septal radiofrequency ablation (PIMSRA, Liwen procedure) emerges as a promising and effective novel therapeutic approach...

BACKGROUND: Understanding the incidence, causes, and trends of sudden cardiac death (SCD) among young competitive athletes is critical to inform preventive policies. METHODS: This study included National Collegiate Athletic Association athlete deaths during a 20-year time frame (July 1, 2002, through June 30, 2022). Athlete deaths were identified through 4 separate independent databases and search strategies (National Collegiate Athletic Association resolutions list, Parent Heart Watch database and media reports, National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research database, and insurance claims)...

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BACKGROUND: Despite reassuring scientific data, the lay press and social media continue to propagate largely unsubstantiated claims that a significant number of athletes have died from cardiovascular complications related to COVID-19 vaccines. The present study sought to determine the incidence of COVID-19 vaccine cardiovascular complications in Team USA athletes. HYPOTHESIS: It was predicted that there would be a low incidence of cardiovascular complications from COVID-19 vaccination in Team USA athletes...

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an heritable cardiomyopathy characterized by a predominantly arrhythmic presentation. It represents the leading cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) among athletes and poses a significant morbidity treat in the general population. As a causative treatment for ARVC is still not available, the placement of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) represent the current cornerstone for SCD prevention in this setting. Thanks to international ARVC-dedicated efforts, significant steps have been achieved in recent years towards an individualized, patient-centered risk stratification approach...

OBJECTIVES: To report findings from the High Performance Sport New Zealand cardiac screening programme, including comparisons between sexes and ethnicities. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Elite Olympic-sport athletes were screened (2012-2022) with personal/family history, physical examination, resting 12-lead ECG and followed from the date of first screening until July 2022. An audit reviewed screening records, including demographic data, ECGs, follow-up and diagnoses...