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Role of echocardiography in screening and evaluation of athletes
  1. David Niederseer1,
  2. Valentina Alice Rossi1,
  3. Christine Kissel1,
  4. Johannes Scherr2,
  5. Stefano Caselli3,
  6. Felix C Tanner1,
  7. Philipp Bohm1,
  8. Christian Schmied1
  1. 1 Department of Cardiology, University Heart Center Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  2. 2 University Center for Prevention and Sports Medicine, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  3. 3 Cardiovascular Center Zurich, Hirslanden, Klinik im Park, Zurich, Switzerland
  1. Correspondence to Dr David Niederseer, Department of Cardiology, University Heart Center Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich 8091, Switzerland; david.niederseer{at}usz.ch

Abstract

The term athlete’s heart describes structural, functional and electrical adaptations of the cardiovascular system due to repetitive intense exercise. Physiological cardiac adaptations in athletes, however, may mimic features of cardiac diseases and therefore make it difficult to distinguish physiological adaptions from disease. Furthermore, regular exercise may also lead to pathological adaptions that can promote or worsen cardiac disease (eg, atrial dilation/atrial fibrillation, aortic dilation/aortic dissection and rhythm disorders). Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a major concern in sports cardiology, and preparticipation screening (PPS) has demonstrated to be effective in identifying athletes at risk for SCD. In Europe, PPS is advocated to include personal and family history, physical examination and ECG, with further workup including echocardiography only if the initial screening investigations show abnormal findings. We review the current available evidence for echocardiography as a screening tool for conditions associated with SCD in recreational and professional athletes and advocate to include screening echocardiography to be performed at least twice in an athlete’s career. We recommend that the first echocardiography is performed during adolescence to rule out structural heart conditions associated with SCD that cannot be detected by ECG, especially mitral valve prolapse, coronary artery anomalies, bicuspid aortic valve and dilatation of the aorta. A second echocardiography could be performed from the age of 30–35 years, when athletes age and become master athletes, to especially evaluate pathological cardiac remodelling to exercise (eg, atrial and/or right ventricular dilation), late onset cardiomyopathies and wall motion abnormalities due to myocarditis or coronary artery disease.

  • hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
  • echocardiography
  • familial cardiomyopathies
  • idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy

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Footnotes

  • DN and VAR contributed equally.

  • PB and CS contributed equally.

  • Contributors All authors contributed to this manuscript and approved the final version.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent for publication Not required.

  • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

  • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.

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