Heart tests for all athletes could save lives: study
July 4th, 2008 | by admin |
By Michael Kahn
LONDON (Reuters) - Mandatory heart screenings for all athletes could detect potentially fatal problems and save lives, Italian researchers said>
The issue of pre-screening programmes using electrocardiograms is controversial but the findings published in the British Medical Journal suggest that a family history and physical exam may miss many undiagnosed heart problems.
“Among people seeking to take part in competitive sports, exercise electrocardiograms can identify those with cardiac abnormalities,” Francesco Sofi and colleagues at the Institute of Sports Medicine at the University of Florence wrote.
Last year, Sevilla footballer Antonio Puerta died three days after collapsing during a Primera Liga match and Cameroon’s Marc-Vivien Foe died during a Confederations Cup match in 2003.
The risk is not just for top athletes either. Figures show>
For their study, Sofi and colleagues analyzed data from more than 30,000 heart screenings during a five year period between 2002 and 2007. Italy is the>
The study found 1,459 showed some form of heart problem during an exercise electrocardiogram and 348 people had abnormal results during their resting electrocardiogram. Of these, 159 had conditions serious enough prevent them from competing.
Yet,>Continued…
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