[Sudden cardiac death in sports]

Abstract

Sudden cardiac death in persons actively practicing in sports is usually due to cardiovascular disease. In athletes younger than 35 years, the most common diagnosis is hypertrophy of the left ventricle, an anomaly of the coronary arteries, acute myocarditis, or right-ventricular dysplasia. 80% of older athletes are found to have coronary heart disease. For those actively engaged in serious sports activities, such examinations as ECG, exercise ECG and echocardiogra phy are essential elements of medical screening. In the case of leisure sports activities, the German Society for Sports Medicine and Prevention recommend that a medical check be done before a person starts to seriously practice sport, with the aim of identifying cardiovascular factors or anomalies.