EDITORIAL
Preparticipation
cardiovascular screening in young athletes in the Netherlands zAIhen a young athlete dies suddenly during training or competition,
this has dramatic impact on the team, relatives and other young athletes. The media draw a lot of attention to this devastating moment. The question that always arises is whether this could have been foreseen with preparticipation cardiovascular screening of the athlete.
The incidence of exercise-related sudden cardiac death in the Netherlands is 3.3/100.000 athletes a year; in Italy the incidence is 2.1/100.000 athletes a year and in the United States this is 4.1/100.000 athletes a year.'3 The incidences in the Netherlands and in the United States are derived from retrospective analysis, while the incidence in Italy is from a prospective study. In the latter study, the authors found a 10-fold higher relative risk for men to die suddenly in relationship to female athletes, and a 2.5-fold higher relative risk for young competitive athletes to die suddenly compared with the noncompetitive young population.3 The Netherlands is becoming a sports nation, with 400 top-level athletes and >25% of the population registered with one or more sports federation (NOC*NSF personal communication). In Italy about 10% of the population is registered as a competitive athlete. Causes of exercise-related sudden cardiac death in young athletes (
Preparticipation
cardiovascular screening in young athletes in the Netherlands zAIhen a young athlete dies suddenly during training or competition,
this has dramatic impact on the team, relatives and other young athletes. The media draw a lot of attention to this devastating moment. The question that always arises is whether this could have been foreseen with preparticipation cardiovascular screening of the athlete.
The incidence of exercise-related sudden cardiac death in the Netherlands is 3.3/100.000 athletes a year; in Italy the incidence is 2.1/100.000 athletes a year and in the United States this is 4.1/100.000 athletes a year.'3 The incidences in the Netherlands and in the United States are derived from retrospective analysis, while the incidence in Italy is from a prospective study. In the latter study, the authors found a 10-fold higher relative risk for men to die suddenly in relationship to female athletes, and a 2.5-fold higher relative risk for young competitive athletes to die suddenly compared with the noncompetitive young population.3 The Netherlands is becoming a sports nation, with 400 top-level athletes and >25% of the population registered with one or more sports federation (NOC*NSF personal communication). In Italy about 10% of the population is registered as a competitive athlete. Causes of exercise-related sudden cardiac death in young athletes (
