title: Screening the apparently healthy athlete for risk: a paradigm in transition.
abstract: It has largely been accepted that pre-participation screening for student athletes is necessary, but there is still no consensus on the most effective and efficient ways to accomplish this. Most clinical strategies are based on retrospective case series. By applying the European Society of Cardiology and Seattle criteria, electrocardiography appears to afford the lowest false-positive rate for identifying potentially dangerous cardiac abnormalities in athletes. Prospective, randomised trials may help determine the most effective primary prevention. Normative data for age, gender, and ethnicity for screening tools need to be formulated to further reduce false-positive results. Targeted advanced screening aimed at the highest risk groups may be the most beneficial and cost-effective application of primary prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics,Nicklaus Children's Hospital,Miami,FL,United States of America.
authors.forename: Joshua D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kurtz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics,Nicklaus Children's Hospital,Miami,FL,United States of America.
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Kanter
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics,Nicklaus Children's Hospital,Miami,FL,United States of America.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics,Nicklaus Children's Hospital,Miami,FL,United States of America.
authors.forename: Anthony F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Rossi
mesh_terms: D000572:American Heart Association; D056352:Athletes; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D010808:Physical Examination; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States
keywords: Sudden cardiac death; echocardiogram; electrocardiogram; primary prevention; sudden cardiac arrest