Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School Athletes

Abstract

Letters20 July 2010Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School AthletesBarry J. Maron, MDBarry J. Maron, MDFrom Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, Minneapolis, MN 55407.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-153-2-201007200-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:I read with interest Dr. Marek's reaction to my editorial. Unfortunately, my comments seem to have been largely misunderstood. First, the disparity cited between U.S. and Italian physicians performing screening examinations relates specifically to the unique cadre of sports medicine physicians solely dedicated to this program in Italy—a crucial resource that simply does not exist in the United States, making national mandatory ECG screening exceedingly difficult, if not impractical. Second, the sudden death of any young athlete is tragic, but these events are uncommon (1–3). Third, Dr. Marek's characterization of the Sudden Death in Athletes Registry (1) as ...