title: Sudden death in competitive athletes.
abstract: Sudden death in athletes is an extremely rare event yet no less tragic for its infrequency. Up to 90% of these deaths are due to underlying cardiovascular diseases and therefore categorized as sudden cardiac death (SCD). The 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, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, and congenital coronary artery anomalies. By contrast, most of deaths in older athletes (<35 years) are due to coronary artery disease. This review focuses on the cardiac causes of SCD and provides a brief summary of the principal noncardiac causes. Current pre-participation screening strategies are also discussed, with particular emphasis on the Italian experience.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Sports Medicine, Health Sciences Department, University Institute of Movement Sciences, Piazza Lauro De Bosis 6, 00194 Rome, Italy. fabio.pigozzi@iusm.it
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pigozzi
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rizzo
mesh_terms: D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D013177:Sports