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Acute Heart Conditions, Sudden Death on the Field, and Prevention

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Sports Injuries

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Abstract

Acute heart conditions in young athletes are uncommon, the incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) being 1–3/100,000. However, it is known that underlying inherited or congenital cardiac disease may increase the risk of SCD in young athletes. Also, in the older population, while regular physical activity is associated with a multitude of health benefits, high-intensity activity increases the risk for acute cardiac events in individuals with an underlying coronary artery disease (the paradox of sports).

The rationale for recommending cardiac pre-participation screening of young athletes is that possibly 1/300 of them have an underlying, often silent, cardiovascular abnormality that carries an increased risk for SCD. The screening consists of family and personal history, including symptoms such as syncope or chest pain during activity, as well as physical examination and 12-lead resting ECG (Europe). Recently, proposals for screening/assessment of older recreational and master athletes have been published.

Importantly, as cardiac screening never will identify all “athletes at risk,” a high standard of emergency preparedness at sporting arenas and other venues of activity, will increase survival, in case of a possible fatal heart event.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astrand laboratory, Swedish School of Sports and Health Sciences (GIH), Lidingövägen 1, Stockholm, Sweden

    Mats Börjesson

  2. Department of Cardiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    Mats Börjesson

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  1. Mats Börjesson
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Correspondence to Mats Börjesson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology and Department of Sports Medicine, Hacettepe University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mahmut Nedim Doral

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Jon Karlsson

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Börjesson, M. (2015). Acute Heart Conditions, Sudden Death on the Field, and Prevention. In: Doral, M.N., Karlsson, J. (eds) Sports Injuries. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36569-0_227

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36569-0_227

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-36568-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-36569-0

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