Recommendations and cardiological evaluation of athletes with arrhythmias: Part 1

Besides the consensus meeting in Amersfoort in 1988 and the Bethesda conference in 1994 recommendations are not available in the Netherlands for screening and evaluation of athletes with cardiac arrhythmias. Guidelines for competitive athletes with cardiac arrhythmias in the United States and Italy were published in 2000. In 1998 Estes et al. published the most important opinions on sudden cardiac death, screening and evaluation of athletes and arrhythmias. This study addresses the physiological and morphological consequences of athletic training, cardiac pathology and risk stratification for sudden cardiac death. Recommendations for competitive athletes with cardiovascular abnormalities, arrhythmias and proposals for specific protocols are given.