Abstract 18891: Frequency of Abnormal Cardiac Screens in US High School Athletes: Analysis of a National Cardiac Youth Registry

Abstract

Introduction: Sudden cardiac arrest affects thousands of children annually, and many heart conditions go undetected by standard child health screens. Cardiac screening of adolescents can identify symptoms suggestive of abnormal cardiac conditions. Despite this, the benefit of cardiac screens in healthy adolescents remains equivocal. Question: At what rate do guideline based cardiac screens identify symptoms suggestive of cardiac abnormalities in the physically active youth? Methods: From 2014 to 2021, Simon’s Heart performed guideline-based heart screenings in youth athletes in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Cardiac screens included a health questionnaire, physical exam (height, weight, blood pressure, cardiac murmur findings), a 12-lead echocardiogram (ECG) read by cardiologists utilizing the international criteria, and echocardiography where recommended. An abnormal cardiac screen was classified as having any of the three abnormalities of hypertension (systolic ≥130 or diastolic >80), heart murmur, or ECG abnormality. Results: 7425 students were screened during a seven-year period. Ages ranged from 12-20 (median of 15) and 61% were male. 1073 of the screened youth athletes (14.5%) had abnormal cardiac screens, 461 (6.2%) had hypertension, 268 (3.6%) had a murmur, 412 (5.5%) had an ECG abnormality and 234 were referred to cardiology for follow up (3.2%). Conclusions: This registry provides evidence that judicious youth athlete screening can uncover significant abnormalities which may require lifelong monitoring. Large registry data are needed to assess the efficacy of such programs.