PMID: 2510685Aug 1, 1989Paper

Causes of sudden death in athletes

Archives des maladies du coeur et des vaisseaux
G FontaineY Grosgogeat

Abstract

Sudden death is rare in athletes, and it is only in recent years that significant series were collected, making it possible to draw the cardiological profile of athletes who died suddenly at the peak of exertion or while recovering. A study of the literature, both medical and paramedical, has yielded 53 cases in which the most frequent causes of sudden death were hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (26 p. 100), (arrhythmogenic right ventricular disease (19 p. 100), congenital abnormalities of coronary arteries (11 p. 100) and coronary atheromatous lesions (9 p. 100), to which must be added various other causes. This study clearly demonstrates the hitherto unrecognized importance of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia-a condition which, as recent data suggest, is not solely due to a myocardial development disorder but also to an infective disease, an acute of chronic myocarditis. In subjects with this condition, new exploratory methods might detect the presence of an arrhythmogenic substrate during medical screening of athletes, but in any case these causes of sudden death suggest that a fast rhythm disorder was involved in several of these deaths. This disorder could be treated if the attendants were trained to carry out cardior...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Arrhythmia

Arrhythmias are abnormalities in heart rhythms, which can be either too fast or too slow. They can result from abnormalities of the initiation of an impulse or impulse conduction or a combination of both. Here is the latest research on arrhythmias.

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly due to stroke and thromboembolism. Here is the latest research.

Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle, that can lead to muscular or electrical dysfunction of the heart. It is often an irreversible disease that is associated with a poor prognosis. There are different causes and classifications of cardiomyopathies. Here are the latest discoveries pertaining to this disease.

Atherosclerosis Disease Progression

Atherosclerosis is the buildup of plaque on artery walls, causing stenosis which can eventually lead to clinically apparent cardiovascular disease. Find the latest research on atherosclerosis disease progression here.

Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia is a congenital cardiomyopathy that is characterized by infiltration of adipose and fibrous tissue into the right ventricle wall and loss of myocardial cells. Primary injuries usually are at the free wall of the right ventricular and right atria resulting in ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias. Discover the latest research on arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia here.

Related Papers

Zeitschrift für Kardiologie
W HortR H Kirschner
Annales de cardiologie et d'angéiologie
J L Neimann
Cardiology in the Young
Josef GehrmannThorsten Marquardt
© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved