Sudden+Cardiac+Arrest+Deaths+in+Young+Athletes

Sudden Cardiac Death in Student Athletes Sudden cardiac arrest is a condition where a person's heart stops beating. Whether or not advancements are made in technology and the amount of cardiac arrest deaths in college athletics decreases will play a large role in the future of college athletics (mainly basketball, soccer, and football). Basketball, soccer, and football players seem to be at the greatest risk of experiencing sudden cardiac arrest deaths. SCD has been involved in sports for a very long time, but the deaths of Hank Gathers (mentioned earlier) and Reggie Lewis in the early 1990s focused new attention on the condition. Many injuries and football, and other sports, result in fatal head injuries or concussions but in fact death strings back to the emergence of sudden cardiac arrest. “Two thirds of athletes with potentially fatal cardiac disease or cardiac anomalies pre-sent with SCD. Disturbingly, Maron et al found that of the 115 persons experiencing SCD who had undergone a pre- participation medical evaluation, only 4 (3%) were suspected of having cardiac disease. The correct diagnosis was made in only one athlete before death” (Koester 201).According to Michael C. Koester, it is very rare for these examinations to expect patients of having cardiac disease. This may cause for an advancement in modern technology as well as new testing for this disease. 1

__Football__
A young college football star, whose name was not mentioned by the source, had suffered many physical wear downs and injuries on his body. This wear and tear also included brain damage, however the ultimate cause of his death was cardiac arrest. This 25-year-old former college football player suffered repeated hits to the head and showed signs of brain damage after his death. 2 Later it was revealed that he died from sudden cardiac arrest. Football may be considered the most physically harmful to the players by many parents and even just coaches or fans of the sport.

__Basketball__
“Basketball fans attending Loyola Marymount University’s game against the University of Portland in March 1990 thought they were in for a spirited semifinal game. But then the unthinkable happened: 23-year-old Hank Gathers, a 6-foot 7-inch superstar, collapsed on the court” (Sudden Cardiac Arrest Is a Leading Killer of College Athletes). He became victim to cardiac arrest. Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) and an unsuccessful CPR were used to try to save Gathers. According to Erin Blakemore, only 4 percent of NCAA athletes are basketball players, but they represent a full 20 percent of all sudden cardiac deaths. Though this may seem like a small percentage, along with soccer and football players these basketball players are at the greatest risk. The NCAA has offered recommendations to start to use electrocardiograms (ECGs) to predict these kinds of risks to student athletes, but they never actually insert them in the process of reducing this risk. 3

__ Soccer __
Parkview High School soccer player, Michael Jones, is another athlete that suffered from a young death involved with sports. He was having a regular day of practice until he collapsed and died right on the field from experiencing cardiac arrest. No physicals were often required for club soccer at this time, therefore it was unclear if Jones has any previous heart conditions. “Michael Jones, the Parkview soccer player who collapsed on a field and died last weekend, suffered cardiac arrest because his heart had an “abnormal artery,” his Atlanta Fire United club confirmed Wednesday” (Georgia Teen Dies from Sudden Cardiac Arrest at Soccer Practice). The league should additionally start to perform more examinations to make the game safer for its players. 4 According to a recent article by Giovanni Davogustto and John P. Higgins, midfielders are the most at risk to sudden cardiac deaths followed by defenders and strikers. These athletes at their sport cover the most distance over the soccer field. Each position is at risk of sudden cardiac arrest but have more increased chances by the amount of high intensity playing is done. “Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with over 200 million active players. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) represents the most striking as well as the most common cause of death in the soccer field. Underlying cardiovascular pathologies predispose to life threatening ventricular arrhythmias and SCD in soccer players. Up to thousands to hundred thousands players might have an underlying condition that predisposes them for SCD” (Davogustto and Higgins 116). After several events hit the media, FIFA has made screening recommendations that are more revealing than the ones recommended in the past for the American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology. This study shows that sudden cardiac deaths affect not only American athletics but also the sports outside of the US. 5

__ Informational Video __
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__References__
1) Koester, Michael C. “A Review of Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes and Strategies for Preparticipation Cardiovascular Screening.” // Journal of Athletic Training // 36.2 (2001): 197–204. Print. 2) Reuters. “25-Year-Old Former College Football Player Diagnosed with CTE”. The Huffington Post TheHuffingtonPost.com, 5 Jan. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/25-year-old-cte-college-football_us_568bc7dfe4b014efe0db8c87 3) Blakemore, Erin. “Sudden Cardiac Arrest Is a Leading Killer of College Athletes. Here’s the NCAA’s Plan of Attack”. The Washington Post WP Company, 6 May 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/06/sudden-cardiac-arrest-is-a-leading-killer-of-college-athletes-heres-the-ncaas-plan-of-attack/?utm_term=.90e36c6cac47 4) Johnson, Matt. “Georgia Teen Dies from Sudden Cardiac Arrest at Soccer Practice.” Wimbledon Health Partners, 8 Aug. 2017, www.wimbledonhealthpartners.com/georgia-teen-dies-cardiac-arrest-soccer-practice/. 5) Giovanni Davogustto, John P Higgins. (2015) Response to: Regarding sudden cardiac death in soccer players. //The Physician and Sportsmedicine// 43:2, pages 116-118. 6) Sudden Cardiac Arrest video (youtube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJyBePEYfVQ