Sudden death in sport before and after introduction of the Basic Fitness Test

This study examines sudden unexpected deaths in relation to strenuous exercise in the five years following the introduction of the Basic Fitness Test viz: 1978-82 and, by comparison with an identical study of the years 1968-77, shows that the annual exercise associated mortality rate rose from 3.5 per 100,000 before the Basic Fitness Test to 4.75 per 100,000 after its introduction. Sudden unexpected death in relation to strenuous exercise is rare, and its incidence has not importantly changed since the introduction of the Basic Fitness Test.