Review article
SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH IN ATHLETES
JOSIP STRČIĆ
orcid.org/0000-0002-2195-3199
; Catholic University of Croatia, Department of Nursing, Zagreb, Croatia
JURAJ JUG
orcid.org/0000-0002-3189-1518
; University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
JASNA ČERKEZ HABEK
; Catholic University of Croatia, Department of Nursing, Zagreb; University Hospital „Sveti Duh“, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes is a rare but tragic event which have negative infl uence on sport population and
overall community.The predicted number of sudden cardiac deaths during or immediately after sports activity in Croatia
is between 6 and 8 deaths per year. This article presents most common causes of SCD as well as pathways to prevent
it. In most cases „silent“ unrecognized heart disease was present and the physical activity can be a trigger for starting
malignant arrhythmias of which the most common are ventricular fi brillation (30%) and monomorphic ventricular tachycardia
(25%). In the group of athletes under the age of 35, the most frequent cause of SCD are hereditary heart disease such
as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (5-30%) and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (5-25%), while in athletes
older than 35 years the most frequent cause of SCD is atherosclerotic coronary disease (70-80%). SCD can occur rarely
in the athletes with structurally normal heart in the case of the commotion of the heart or with preexisting disorders of ion
channels in heart. Today exist some prevention strategies which has main aim to decrease incidence of SCD in the athletes.
The American recommendations for preparticipation screening included anamnesis and clinical examination and European
recommendations additional included recording of 12 channel ECG. According to Italian experience using 12 channel ECG
has a high sensitivity in the recognition of athletes with cardiovascular diseases with signifi cantly decrease of SCD for
90%. Early defi brillation is crucial moment in prevention of SCD in the patients with cardiac arrest. This fact support the
importance of equipping sports fi eld and facilities with automatic external defi brillator (AED) and for education of sport
participants in basic life support.
Keywords
sudden cardiac death; cardiomyopathy; electrocardiogram; athletes screening; physical activity
Hrčak ID:
256735
URI
Publication date:
28.4.2021.
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