Abstract
Physical exercise increases the relative risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes when compared to a non-sporting population. Pre-participation evaluation (PPE) of athletes is thus of major importance. For Pacific Island athletes, medical guidelines recommend an echocardiography to complement a PPE including personal and family history, a physical examination and a resting twelve-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). Indeed, silent rheumatoid heart diseases found in up to 7.6% of adolescents give rise to severe valve lesions, which are the main causes of SCD in Pacific Island athletes. This short review examines the incidence rate of SCD in Pacific Island athletes and indicates how a questionnaire, physical examination, ECG and echocardiography can prevent it.
Highlights
Evaluation of Pacific Island Athletes, In Pacific Island athletes, the estimated incidence rate of sudden cardiac death (SCD) is 3.9/100,000 athletes versus 1–2/100,000 athletes/year in Western countries or 34.2/100,000 athletes in specificAmerican sports and ethnicities like Afro-Caribbean basketball players [1].The aim of a pre-participation cardiovascular evaluation (PPE) is to detect the CV diseases that have a risk of SCD
Physical exercise increases the relative risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes when compared to a non-sporting population
In 842 athletes, Maron et al [6] found that SCD was mainly due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) plus indeterminate left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) considered as possible HCM (45%), 3.5-fold more common among males than among females, as well as anomalous coronary artery (33% of females vs. 17% of males), arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) (13% of females vs. 4% of males) and myocarditis (6%)
Summary
Evaluation of Pacific Island Athletes, In Pacific Island athletes, the estimated incidence rate of SCD is 3.9/100,000 athletes versus 1–2/100,000 athletes/year in Western countries or 34.2/100,000 athletes in specific. As about 80% of these diseases are asymptomatic [2], a resting twelve-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is recommended [3]. In Pacific Island athletes, echocardiography is recommended. RDH gives rise to severe valve lesions related to acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and are the major causes of SCD. This short review will examine the incidence rate of SCD in Pacific Island athletes and how a questionnaire, physical examination, ECG and echocardiography can prevent it.
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