• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

OSU Doctor to Study Athletes' Hearts

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 October 2006, 21:00 CDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A cardiologist will study the hearts of student-athletes at Ohio State University, hoping to discover the warning signs that could help predict heart attacks in young athletes.

There has not been enough medical research into the issue in the United States, said Dr. Christine E. Lawless, who works at the university's College of Medicine. One in 200,000 athletes will die from heart disease while playing sports, she said.

A University of Toledo basketball player collapsed and died of a ruptured blood vessel to his heart during a training session this month at the school.

"We're trying to prevent events like that from happening. They occur in people with undetected heart disease," Lawless said.

The $150,000 study, which will be funded through private grants, is expected to begin in December. About 900 OSU athletes are being asked to undergo physical exams, electrocardiograms and echocardiograms to look for possible abnormalities and defects. Participation is voluntary.

EKGs study the heart's electrical activity, while echocardiograms take images of the chambers and valves.

Lawless also is negotiating with high school and professional teams to participate, but she would not identify which ones.

The research will try to determine what a normal heart looks like for various athletes. It will vary among ethnic groups, gender and sports, Lawless said. For example, a normal reading for a golfer will be different from a football player's.

Lawless also is eager to gather data for black athletes who are more likely to die from heart conditions while competing, she said. "We are really lacking anything specific" on black athletes, she said.

Some results should be available in about a year, she said.

Italy has conducted EKG screenings on its athletes for decades and has reduced the number of deaths from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart muscle that is the leading cause of sudden death in athletes. The European Society of Cardiology last year called for EKGs on all youth athletes. And the International Olympic Committee recommended routine EKGs in 2004.

But the issue has been controversial in the United States. An EKG costs about $25 to $30, and the most inexpensive echocardiograms can cost $100, Lawless said. High schools and colleges might be reluctant to pay to test all their athletes, she said.

Then there's the chance of a false positive or misdiagnosis that could sideline a healthy athlete. And a correct diagnosis could prevent a lucrative professional career. Numerous lawsuits have been filed over the issue - both by families of athletes who died and claimed that doctors should have caught the problem, and by athletes who didn't want to stop playing after a diagnosis.

NBA basketball player Eddie Curry was traded last year from the Chicago Bulls to the New York Knicks after he refused to take a DNA test to see if he had a potentially fatal heart defect. He had been diagnosed earlier with an irregular heartbeat and enlarged heart.

The family of Loyola Marymount All-American Hank Gathers sued the school after he died during a basketball game in 1990, saying Gathers wasn't told his heart condition was potentially fatal. The suits were later settled.

Experts, including the American Heart Association, question the financial cost and the possibility of false positives that could cause unneeded angst for athletes and families.

"As physicians we can't take the position that because there would be false positives and some anxiety that it's not legitimate, but screening has to be viewed as (a) much more complex situation than some would give it credit for," said Dr. Barry J. Maron, who leads the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.

Jose Castillo, a middle-distance runner on the Ohio State track team, said he has no problem with the upcoming testing at the school. The senior from Flushing, N.Y., has a heart murmur and already has extra checkups.

"I like the idea just because it gives other students an opportunity to find out whether they might have any problems," he said.

--

On the Net:

Dr. Christine Lawless: http://www.internalmedicine.osu.edu/cardiovascular/6159.cfm

---

Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

More News in this Category