[Cardiovascular evaluation in athletic children]

Although rare, sports related sudden cardiac deaths in children and adolescents justify the search for risk factors in any child or adolescent who wishes to practice sports. Each time that history and careful clinical cardiovascular examination point to a possible cardiovascular abnormality, an electrocardiogram and an echocardiography must be performed. Exercise testing is useful to appreciate the cardiovascular tolerance, either in normal subjects or in subjects with a cardiovascular abnormality; its interpretation requires good knowledge and understanding of hemodynamic responses to exercise. Indications, risks and procedures of exercise testing are discussed with reference to exercise physiology.