Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo 2011 Volume 139, Issue 5-6, Pages: 394-401
https://doi.org/10.2298/SARH1106394M
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Sudden cardiac death in young athletes
Mazić Sanja (Institut za medicinsku fiziologiju, Medicinski fakultet, Beograd)
Ilić Vladimir (Fakultet sporta i fizičkog vaspitanja, Beograd)
Đelić Marina (Institut za medicinsku fiziologiju, Medicinski fakultet, Beograd)
Aranđelović Aleksandra (Klinika za kardiologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Cardiovascular diseases are the cause of death in up to 90% of athletes. The
most frequent cause of death in young athletes is a sudden cardiac death
(SCD). Causes of SCD among athletes are strongly correlated with age. In
young athletes (<35 years), the leading causes are congenital cardiac
diseases, particularly hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congenital coronary
artery anomalies. By contrast, most of deaths in older athletes (<35 years)
are due to coronary artery disease. Although there is no possibility to
decrease the risk of SCD to ”zero“, especially in sport competitions, clear
recommendations, if available, for cardiovascular evaluation before athletic
participation and side effects of sports activities, would minimize the
frequency of SCD. If a specific condition of the cardiovascular system is
diagnosed, it is necessary to establish the risk of SCD associated with a
continual involvement in physical activities and competitive sports, and to
define clearly disqualification criteria for each individual athlete.
Keywords: sudden cardiac death, athletes, pre-competition examination
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