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Sudden death in young athletes: Is it preventable?
Pietro Amedeo Modesti1, Giancarlo Casolo2, Iacopo Olivotto3
1Sport Medicine Unit, Careggi University Hospital, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, Florence 50134, Italy.
Sudden death in athletes (SDA) is complex to track. While pre-participation screening has limited impact, widespread automated external defibrillator (AED) use offers effective reactive prevention, potentially benefiting the general population.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Sports Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Sudden death in young athletes (SDA) presents diagnostic and epidemiological challenges.
- Prevention strategies include pre-participation screening and automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of current strategies for preventing sudden death in young athletes.
- To assess the impact of pre-participation screening and AED accessibility.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing data on pre-participation screening protocols and their yield.
- Analysis of the effectiveness of automated external defibrillator (AED) accessibility in sports settings.
Main Results:
- Pre-participation screening identifies at-risk individuals in approximately 0.4% of cases, with a positive predictive value of 4.7% and 25% sensitivity.
- Reactive strategy using AEDs shows considerable effectiveness, highlighting the need for global implementation.
Conclusions:
- Current screening methods for sudden cardiac death in athletes have limitations in predicting mortality.
- Widespread AED availability is a highly effective reactive prevention strategy, with potential applications for the general population.
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