cardiovascular disorders
Sudden Cardiac Death in Athletes
Introduction
An estimated 1 to 3/100,000 apparently healthy young athletes die suddenly during exercise. Males are affected up to 10 times more often than females. Basketball and football players in the US and soccer players in Europe may be at highest risk ( General references ). sudden cardiac death has many causes (see table Causes of Sudden Cardiovascular Death in Young Athletes ). The most common cause of sudden cardiac death was thought to be Commotio cordis(sudden ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation after a blow to the precordium) is a risk in athletes with thin, compliant chest walls even when no cardiovascular disorder is present. The blow may involve a moderate-force projectile (eg, baseball, hockey puck, lacrosse ball) or impact with another player during a vulnerable phase of myocardial repolarization. Other causes include inherited arrhythmia syndromes (eg, Torsades de Pointes Ventricular Tachycardia , Inolder athletes,sudden cardiac death is typically caused by Overview of Coronary Artery Disease None Occasionally, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or valvular disease is involved. In other conditions underlying sudden death in athletes (eg, Asthma , Symptoms and signs are those of cardiovascular collapse; diagnosis is obvious. 20%; the percentage may increase as distribution of community-based, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) expands. In fact, studies have demonstrated that the presence of AEDs can increase the neurologically intact survival rates to over 80% ( General references ). For survivors, treatment is management of the underlying condition. In some cases, an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator may ultimately be required. 