Medical References

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Scope of the Problem

Epidemiology and outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in children. The resuscitation outcomes consortium epistry-cardiac arrest: Atkins et al; Circulation 2009; 119:  1481-1491. Link

Sudden death in young competitive athletes.  Clinical demographic & pathological profiles:  Maron et al: JAMA  1996; 276:  199-204.  Link (demonstrates the failure of current methods of screenings).

Sudden deaths in young competive athletes.  Analysis of 1866 deaths in the United States, 1980-2006:  Maron et al; Circulation 2009; 119: 1085-1092. Link

Incidence of sudden cardiac death in national collegiate athletic association athletes:  Harmon et al; Circulation 2011; 1594-1600. Link

Rationale for Screening

Electrocardiogrphic screening in athletes:  The time is now for universal screening:  Papadakis et al; British Journal of Sports Medicine 2009; 43:  663-668.

Pre-participation screening of young competitive athletes for the prevention of sudden cardiac death:  Corrado et al; J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2008; 52:  1981-1989.  Link

Strategies for the prevention of sudden cardiac death during sports:  Corrado et al; European Journal of Cardiovasular Prevention & Rehabilitation 2011; 18:197.  Link

Clinical Review:  Preparticipation screenig for cardiovascular abnormalities in young competitive athletes:  Papadakis et al; British Medical Journal 2008; 337:  al596. Link

Cost Effectiveness

Cost-effectiveness of prep-participation screening for prevention of sudden cardiac death in young adults:  Wheeler et al; Annals of Internal Medicine 2010; 152:  276-286. Link

Cost and yield of adding electrocardiography to history and physical in screening Division I intercollegiate athletes:  A 5-year experience: Malhotra et al; Heart Rhythm 2010; 8:  721-727. Link

ECG screening of young adults:  A low cost model:  Marek el al;  ACC 2011; A1096 E143. PDF

Outcomes of Screenings

Trends in sudden cardiovascular death in young competitive athletes after implementation of a pre participation screening program: Corrado et al;  Journal of American Medical Association 2006; 296:  1593-1601.  PDF

Cardiovascular screening in college athletes with and without electrocardiography:  Baggish et al; Annals of Internal Medicine 2010; 152: 269-275.  PDF

A pilot study of the feasibility of heart screening for sudden cardiac arrest in healthy children: Vetter et al; American Heart Journal  2011; 10: 1-7.e.3. PDF

Evaluation of the Athlete

36th Bethesda Conference:  eligibility recommendations for competitive athletes with cardiovascular abnormalities:  Maron et al; J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2005; 45:2-63. PDF

Recommendations for competitive sports participation in athletes with cardiovascular disease.  A consensus document from the Study Group of Sports Cardiology of the Working Group of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Physiology, and the Working Group of Myocardial and pericardial disease of the European Society of Cardiology:  Pelliccia et al; Eur. Heart J.  2005; 26: 1422-45.

ECG in the Young Adult Athlete

Can computer generated ECG interpretations be relied upon when performing large scale ECG screening of young adult athletes?  Marek et al; ACC 2011; A9108.E381.  PDF

The Debate

National electrocardiography screening for competitive athletes:  Feasible in the United States?  Maron et al; Annals of Internal Med. 2010; 152:  324-326. Editorial

Electrocardiography and preparticipation screening of competitive high school athletes:  Marek; Annals of Internal Med.  2010; 153:131-132. Letter

Electrocardiography and preparticipation screening of competitive high school athletes:  Pelliccia et al; Annals of Internal Med.  2010; 153:132. Letter

Electrocardiography and preparticiaption screening of competitive high school athletes:  Maron; Annals of Internal Med.  2010; 153: 132-133. Response

Is there evidence for recommending electrocardiogram as part of the pre-participation examination?  Drezner et al; Clin J Sport Med 2011; 21: 18-24. PDF

Preventing sudden cardiac death in athletes:  finding the needle in the haystack or closing the barn door?  Mosterd et al; European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation 2011 18:  194. Link

Manadatory electrocardiographic screening of athletes to reduce their risk for sudden death:  Proven fact or wishful thinking?   Steinvil et al; J Am Coll Cardiol.  2011; 57:1291-1296.  PDF

Editorial Commentary-ECG screening for athletes:  Letting evidence and reason advance the debate:  Estes; Heart Rhythm 2011; 8:  728-730. PDF

Methods of Screening

Efficacy of personal symptom and family history questionnaires when screening for inherited cardiac pathologies: the role of electrocardiography:  Wilson et al; British J. Sports Medicine 2008; 42: 207-211. PDF

A novel approach to screening for sudden cardiac death in young adults utilizing a stratified method with ECG and ECHO:  Marek et al; J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2010; 55; A197.E1850. PDF

ECG screening criteria for LVH does not correlate with diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy:  Sathanandam et al; Circulation 2009;120: A2484.S647.  Link