Cardiovascular pre-participation screening in young athletes: Recommendations of the Association of European Paediatric Cardiology

Abstract

Sudden death in young competitive athletes can be avoided by implementation of pre-participation screening programmes. A screening programme should be performed only by trained physicians and should include the athlete's personal and family history, physical examination results, and the readings from a 12-lead-electrocardiogram. The athlete should undergo this screening programme every second year to detect progressive diseases. In addition, the programme should include detailed instructions to the athletes to pause training during infections in order to prevent sudden death due to myocarditis.

Keywords: Pre-participation screening; electrocardiogram; prevention; sudden cardiac death; young athletes.