It is that time of the year again. Many teens and college athletes have hit the fields again for the fall sports season. Football, soccer, cross country and other sports will again reign the fall season. Practices will begin anew.
Right now there are many student athletes hoping for a chance to make the team and make a difference. Who among them is really concerned about their safety? An increase in parents and medical providers are indeed voicing their concerns.
Every year there are unexpected and tragic deaths as a result of the sport season. On the same sideline is injuries – These are somewhat expected and are often tragic in their own right, but it is the unexpected side of death that concerns the heart of so many.
Nationally, about 7 million students play high school sports. And according to the “National Association of State Boards of Education“. And of those more than 20 high school students per year die from heat, heart conditions and other injuries.
This concern is not limited to high school athletes, as several college students and professional athletes, have recently died as a result of playing sports.
Often many student athletes require a physical examination prior to playing sports, but many argue that the current standards are not adequately testing for potential health risks. As in many cases – cost is the real concern. While others contend that when no symptoms are present how can we truly know who needs further screening?
Dr. Federico Vaca, director of UC Irvine’s Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention Research stated somewhat recently “When they come in their freshman year, their heart is still growing.
How much do you screen them.” He clearly understands the difficulty that presents diagnosis of student athletes
The American Heart Association recommends cardiovascular screening for all high school student athletes. However this does not include the more involved heart testing. Some schools in Italy have required EKG’s for all high school athletes and they report a drop in the overall student death rate.
Causes of Sudden Death in Athletes
1.) Cardiac Arrest
2.) Cardiomyopathy – leading to cardiac arrest
3.) Ventricular fibrillation – also leading to cardiac arrest
4.) Abnormal coronary arteries – leads to cardiac arrest
5.) Marfan Syndrome
6.) Aortic rupture
7.) Commotio Cordis – an injury or blow to the chest
8.) Heat stroke
9.) Other injuries
10.) Other
Safety Tips
- Research and know the medical history of family members
- Student must communicate changes in training or workouts
- Watch out for Chest pain
- Watch out for shortness of breath
- EKG can be as low as $50
- Consider options of Heart Ultrasound [echocardiogram] and stress test
Symptoms
- Often no symptoms are seen
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Fainting (Syncope)
- Racing heart
- Fatigue
What to avoid
- Avoid smoking
- Avoid anabolic steroids
- Avoid other illegal drugs
- Avoid delay if symptoms present
TOPS program
Team of Physicians for Students
Free physical of student athletes is seen in Glendale Arizona
Volunteers make up the majority of those who perform the testing.
A cardiologist fro the Arizona Heart Institute reads the EKG
Almost 2,000 students every year are seen by this program and over 16,000 since inception
Dr. Paul M. Steingard, D.O., founder of the program now known as TOPS, explained: “Traditional thinking cites the high cost of EKGs and Echocardiograms as being prohibitive. The cost of those tests can range up to $1,000, when done by private physicians. When done in mass by volunteers, there is no cost to the athlete. Every student-athlete receives an EKG, which is read by a volunteer cardiologist from the Arizona Heart Institute.”
Last year alone over 2,300 students were seen and 6 had cardiac related issues. Another 95 had high blood pressure and 22 had other health related medical concerns.
*** Overall Sudden deaths of student athletes are rare but occasionally it may be something that could be prevented. Additional screening may be the answer.
2 Responses to “Unexpected Sudden Death of an Athlete”
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August 17th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Safety at work or play or school is important!
Accidents can occur and unfortunately do occasionally happen
In the United States, approximately
400,000 medical emergencies occur daily,
60,000,000 injury accidents happen yearly and 1
83,000,000 911 calls are made annually.
Safety-Mates are designed to give individuals both proper instructions and the confidence to know what to do in a medical emergency.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
13 percent of all workplace fatalities result from sudden cardiac arrest.
Between 2001 -2002 there were
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Of these deaths
1216 were Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) where the heart stops,
354 from environmental electrical shock and
267 from asphyxiation.
Automated External Defibrillators (AED) can increase the chances of cardiac
arrest survival.
Combined AEDs and a Safety Mate can decrease emergency uneasiness for the layperson responding in an emergency.
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August 18th, 2009 at 8:03 am
I heard about a girl who died a few years ago and it wasn’t until autopsy could they find the cause of death. I agree that this is a difficult and sad period for friends and family. I am not sure additional screening would have helped her. Other people may benefit – but you can’t control everything