An internship experience researching sudden death in young athletes and gaining exposure to clinical cardiology

Abstract

/n summer 2012 I had the opportunity to death in athletes. In 1993, Dr. Maron brought the work as a research intern at the MinneapNational Registry of Sudden Death in Young olis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF). Athletes to MHIF. The Registry is an autopsy MHIF is a nonprofit organization with the based database that records athlete deaths meeting mission of improving cardiovascular health five criteria: the athlete must have been related to through research and education. The internship the USA in some capacity, such as an American they offer is an effective extension of this athlete or a foreign athlete on American soil; a mission: future physicians (the interns) are victim of sports-related sudden death-, under the educated about healthcare through a collection age Qfforty, working towards improvement and of diverse experiences, and in return the interns excellence in their sport; and they must have died work with physicians to advance clinical in 1980 or later (Maron et al., 2009). The research projects. The internship program at database currently holds about 2300 cases of MHIF is primarily designed for pre-medical athlete deaths, and an additional 225 cases of students in the latter stages of undergraduate aborted death, which is defined as a sudden education (juniors, seniors, and graduated cardiac arrest that would have resulted in death if students). In existence since 2002, the program nQt for cardiopUlmonaiy resuscitation (CPR) or has three main purposes for participating automated external defibrillator (AED) use. Since interns: to gain experience with clinical rethere is no mandatory reporting of athlete deaths search, to learn more about cardiovascular h the USA, the Registiy is responsible for many healthcare, and to develop an accurate understatistics ()n ^ |ssue of sudden aftlete deaths and standing of medicine as a career (Willenbring et . r . , r , 1 20081 1S ore an imPortant resource for physicians, administrators, and public health officials. The most recent statistical analysis of the Clinical research Registry was published in 2009, and this analysis is still considered accurate (the per The most valuable part of the internship was centages do not change much over time). This gaining exposure to clinical research. I was analysis offers many useful figures conceming assigned to work under Dr. Bany J. Maron, who the demographics of sudden death in athletes, holds a special interest in researching sudden For example% the most recent years of the database suggest a sudden death incidence rate in athletes of 99 deaths per year (Maron et al., Correspondence to: cjmurphy2@students.nwc.edu 2009). The age of these athletes at death was