Athletes at greater risk for sudden death than nonathletes - Brief Article

AORN Journal, April, 2002

More extensive screening methods should be used to detect cardiovascular disease in young athletes, according to a Nov 11, 2002, news release from the American Heart Association (AHA). An Italian study presented at the AHA's Scientific Sessions 2001 conference found that young, competitive athletes are more than twice as likely to experience sudden death as young nonathletes.

Researchers studied the incidence of death among athletes and nonathletes ages 12 to 35 in the Veneto region of Italy between 1979 and 1999. In total, 300 sudden deaths occurred in this group during the study period. Among athletes, the death rate was 2.3 per 100,000 compared to 0.9 per 100,000 for nonathletes, making the estimated risk for sudden death 2.5 times higher in athletes.

Anomalous coronary artery origin (ie, a congenital heart abnormality in the coronary artery) was identified as the most likely cause for sudden death in young athletes, with a risk 78.4 times higher in athletes than nonathletes. The relative risk of sudden death due to arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ie, a heart muscle disease that predisposes people to deadly, irregular heart rhythms) was 5.5 times higher in athletes than nonathletes.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (ie, an excessive thickening of the heart muscle), a major cause of sudden death in young US athletes, was not prevalent among the Italian populations studied. Researchers speculate that this could be due to mandatory sports screenings, which include personal and family history as well as a 12-lead electrocardiogram, for all Italian athletes.

American Heart Association Meeting Report: Young Athletes May Be More Prone to Sudden Death than Nonathletes; Enhanced Screening Urged (news release, Anaheim, Calif: American Heart Association, Nov 11, 2001) http://www .scientificsessions.org/news/pressreleases/release2.jsp (accessed 19 Feb 2002).