THURSDAY, July 3 (HealthDay News) -- Including an
electrocardiogram in screenings for heart disorders in competitive
athletes would improve detection of those at risk for sudden
cardiac death and save lives, say Italian researchers.
In the United States, a young competitive athlete dies every
three days from an undetected cardiovascular disorder, according to
background information in the study. In most of these kinds of
cases, the athletes appear healthy and have no previous clinical
signs of heart problems.
In the United States and some European countries, authorities
have recommended a pre-participation evaluation that includes a
detailed family history as well as a physical examination. In
Italy, athletes entering competitive sports also must have two
electrocardiograms (ECGs), which measure the electrical activity of
the heart. One ECG is done while the athlete is at rest, and the
other is done while the athlete is exercising.
The use of ECG as part of screening is controversial because of
concerns about cost-effectiveness and the number of false positive
results.
In this study, researchers at the University of Florence studied
the use of ECG in 30,065 athletes who had a complete
pre-participation cardiovascular evaluation. During resting ECG,
348 (1.2 percent) of the athletes had distinctly abnormal test
results, while 1,459 (4.9 percent) had abnormal results while
exercising.
The average age of people with abnormal results only during
exercise was 30.9 years, while the average age of those with normal
results was 24.9 years.
Of the 159 people who were disqualified from sports due to heart
problems, 95 percent would have been missed if only family history
and physical examination was used, and 79.2 percent would have been
missed if they had only a resting ECG.
ECGs should be added to screening programs for all people taking
part in competitive sports, especially those who are middle-aged or
older, the researchers said.
The study was published online Thursday in the
British Medical Journal.
More information
The MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia has more about
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
