Asymptomatic Athlete Research Articles

Third‐degree atrioventricular block in an athlete

There is a wide spectrum of changes in the resting electrocardiograms of athletes. We here present a case of third-degree atrioventricular block in an asymptomatic young athlete.

Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes

Death on the court: Loyola Marymount's Hank Gathers was at the top one minute, the next, he collapsed and lay dying as his mother stood mournfully by him. This was the lead story in the March 12, 1990, issue ofSports Illustrated(pp 14-17).USA Today(March 6,1990:1A) carried the story of Hank Gathers' death for 4 days, including the front-page headline, Athletes at risk: many put health, even life on the line to play. The tragic death of a national sports celebrity gaining front-page coverage is not unusual. Such events hold a morbid fascination and create undue fear among parents, coaches, community leaders, and physicians involved in the care of young athletes. This review will attempt to place sudden cardiac death in a previously asymptomatic young athlete in perspective while providing recommendations for identifying the athlete who may be at risk. Suddenunexpecteddeath (SUD) has been defined as

Anomalous origin of the left coronary arterial tree through three stems — one from the pulmonary trunk

In an 18-year-old asymptomatic male athlete, the left anterior descending coronary artery was found to arise from the pulmonary trunk. The remainder of the left coronary arterial tree arose through two stems from the aorta. Collateral retrograde filling of the left anterior descending coronary artery from the right coronary artery and the left circumflex coronary artery was demonstrated, but we found no evidence of left-to-right shunting into the pulmonary trunk. The patient has chosen conservative treatment, thus offering an unusual opportunity to follow the natural course of this lesion, which may increase understanding of its natural history.