Professional Athletes and Sudden Death?

The magazine New Scientist (Vol 203 No 2725, 12 September 2009) had a closer look at the issue of sudden cardiac deaths in young sportsmen in September 2009. Shortly before that, two seemingly healthy athletes had died: the Spanish footballer Antonio Puerta and the British rower Scott Rennie.

Now the so-called 'Lausanne Recommendations' suggest regular physical examinations in order to detect problems triggering heart conditions that could be fatal. The pharma giant Merck elaborated in an article that an estimated 1 in 200,000 apparently healthy young athletes could develop abrupt-onset ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation and can die suddenly during exercise. Screenings to identify risk should be undertaken before the start of any professional sports activity with reevaluation every 2 years (for high school age) or every 4 years (if college age or older). Ultimately, they can save lives as there can be conditions which are silent.