title: [Sudden cardiac death in athletes and its prevention].
abstract: Athletes and especially elite athletes are predominantly young people and are not associated with high health risks, apart from traumatic injuries. Nevertheless, there is a significantly high incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD), which ranges from 0.6 to 3.0/100,000 athletes per year. Often the SCD is the first manifestation of an underlying cardiac disease. Distinct structural cardiac disorders, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, coronary artery anomalies (17 %), inflammatory disorders (6 %) and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy as well as conditions without structural cardiac abnormalities, such as primary electrical diseases (channelopathies) are important causes of sudden death. A simple screening can help to identify athletes with these diseases and allow specific therapies or precautionary measures to be initiated.
authors.affiliation: Kardiologie, Asklepios Klinik St. Georg, Lohmühlenstr. 5, 20099, Hamburg, Deutschland, t.toennis@asklepios.com.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tönnis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tack
authors.forename: K-H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kuck
mesh_terms: D056352:Athletes; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D018580:Mandatory Testing / Q000379:methods*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods; D013177:Sports