ArticleBritish journal of sports medicine2021
Aetiology and incidence of sudden cardiac arrest and death in young competitive athletes in the USA: a 4-year prospective study.
Article in British journal of sports medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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71 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 155 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical Considerations for Competitive Sports Participation for Athletes With Cardiovascular Abnormalities: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2025Guideline
- Sex Differences in the Incidence of Sudden Cardiac Arrest/Death in Competitive Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Pooled it
- Resuscitation on the field of play: a best-practice guideline from Resuscitation Council UK.British journal of sports medicine · 2024Guideline
- Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy - 2024.Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia · 2024Guideline
- Screening Electrocardiogram in Young Athletes and Military Members: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of athletic training · 2022Pooled it
- Clinical characteristics and outcomes of the anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery: a nationwide pediatric survey in Japan.Heart and vessels · 2026Article
- A systematic review of explainable artificial intelligence and cardiac electrophysiological models addressing sports-related sudden cardiac death and arrest in adolescents and young adults.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Precision Cardiogenomics in Athletes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Sudden cardiac death secondary to acute aortic syndromes in young athletes in the United States.European journal of preventive cardiology · 2026Article
- Survey of Pediatric Cardiologists on Screening for Conditions Associated with Sudden Cardiac Death.Pediatric cardiology · 2026Article
- Chief medical officers' perceptions of athlete cardiac screening.JSAMS plus · 2026Article
- Cardiac Screening in Young Athletes: The Role of Diagnostics in Preventing Sudden Cardiac Death and Exploring Clearance Protocols.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Characteristics of sudden cardiac arrest during endurance racing: a decade of the Paris registry.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2026Article
- Anomalous Right Coronary Artery: A Case of Exertional Angina and Sinus Node Ischemia.JACC. Case reports · 2026Article
- Effect of BPM music on post-exercise heart rate variability in male collegiate sprinters.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Cardiovascular diseases and risk factors associated with sudden cardiac death in amateur athletes: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Sudden cardiac arrest in young adults: A comprehensive systematic review of epidemiology, aetiology and preventive strategies.Heart international · 2026Review
- Looking Under the Hood: Screening for Cardiac Abnormalities in Young Athletes.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2025Review
- Isolated Anterior T-Wave Inversion in Elite Athletes: Prevalence and Clinical Relevance by Sex and Sporting Discipline.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025Article
- Towards smarter screening: refining ECG criteria for the youngest athletes.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2025Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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10 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate the aetiology and incidence of sudden cardiac arrest and death (SCA/D) in US competitive athletes.
methodsProspective surveillance was conducted from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2018 through the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research in collaboration with national sports organisations. Autopsy reports, death certificates, and medical records were reviewed by an expert panel to determine aetiology. Athlete participation statistics from the National Federation of State High School Associations and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) were used to calculate incidence rates per athlete-years (AY). Comparisons of incidence rates were calculated using incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% CIs.
results331 cases of confirmed SCA/D (158 survivors; 173 fatalities) were identified; 15.4% in middle school, 61.6% in high school and 16.6% in college and professional athletes. Average age was 16.7 (11-29) years, and the majority were in male (83.7%), basketball (28.7%) or American football (25.4%) athletes. Common causes included hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (20.6%), idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy (13.4%), coronary artery anomalies (12.0%) and autopsy-negative sudden unexplained death (9.6%). Coronary anomalies were more common in middle school athletes (28%), while cardiomyopathies (hypertrophic, arrhythmogenic, dilated, non-compaction or restricted) accounted for 47% of cases in college and professional athletes. Incidence was higher in male versus female athletes at the high school (1:43 932 AY (95% CI 1:38 101 to 1:50 907) vs 1:203 786 AY (95% CI 1:145 251 to 1:293 794); IRR 4.6 (95% CI 3.1 to 7.2)) and NCAA (1:34 906 AY (95% CI 1:25 385 to 1:49 173) vs 1:123 278 AY (95% CI 1:66 078 to 1:249 853); IRR 3.5 (95% CI 1.5 to 9.5)) levels. African American male NCAA Division I basketball players had the highest annual incidence rate of SCA/D (1:2087 AY (95% CI 1:1073 to 1:4 450)).
conclusionsCardiomyopathies account for nearly half of SCA/D cases in college and professional athletes, while coronary artery anomalies play a more prominent role than expected in middle school athletes. Over half of SCA cases in athletes result in sudden death, calling for improved prevention strategies.
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