Latest Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Screening Stories
The risk of cardiovascular sudden death was very small and only about 30% of the incidence were due to diseases that could be reliably detected by pre-participation screening, even with 12-lead ECGs, according to research in a U.S. high school athlete population presented March 10 at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions. Sudden death in young competitive athletes due to cardiovascular disease is an important community issue, which could impact the design of...
Authors disagree on real cost of screening While ensuring the safety of high school and college athletes is hardly controversial, the method and associated costs of doing so are hotly debated. Conducting electrocardiographic (ECG) screenings of all young competitive athletes in the United States would cost up to $69 billion over 20 years and save about 4,813 lives, making the cost per life saved over $10 million, according to a study published online today in the Journal of the American...
Relatives of young people who have died suddenly from a heart-related problem are at greatly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease according to a study published online today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal. The authors of the study say these findings have two major implications; firstly, they strongly support the fact that autopsies should always be performed in cases of young sudden unexplained death; and secondly, since the involved diseases are all treatable if...
HIBERNIA, N.J., Aug. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the non-profit Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association (HCMA), more than 250,000 people of all ages will die each year from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), a genetic disease that causes the heart muscle to thicken for no apparent reason, is the leading cause of SCA in those under 40. "Contrary to the popular perception that SCA is an athlete's problem, the fact is that 80% of children and...
A new study suggests that echocardiography be included as part of screenings to help identify student athletes with heart problems that could lead to sudden death. The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study, presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Society of Echocardiography, suggests adding a modified echo to the current practice of taking an EKG, getting a family history and having a physical exam. "EKG is a good tool, but may not be sensitive enough to...
An article, published in Circulation by Laurel K. Leslie, MD, MPH from the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and colleagues from Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, has evaluated the lifesaving benefits and costs of screening programs for the prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in children and adolescents. The authors found that screening can save lives, but that because it targets rare conditions and available tests...
University of Guelph researchers have found the location and effect of abnormal heart proteins that can cause cardiac failure, a discovery that points to potential new ways to treat the most costly health problem in the world. The study appears today in PLoS ONE, a peer-reviewed international journal published by the Public Library of Science. It is available online: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036821 "In order to cure heart disease, you have to understand its fundamental...
New study presented at the World Congress of Cardiology organized by the World Heart Federation Left-ventricular hyper-trabeculation (LVHT) – a feature of certain cardiomyopathies (chronic disease of the heart muscle) – has been found to be more common in black, male athletes according to a new study presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology. A study of 692 athletes carried out in the UK, found that LVHT was more prevalent in athletes compared with non-athletes (6.8 per...
Researchers say current European guidelines lead to many false positives, recommend including race-specific criteria Many athletes undergo cardiac screening to detect possible heart conditions before being allowed to participate in student or professional sports. Current European screening guidelines, which are based on data from white athletes, can lead to the over-investigation and potential false disqualification of healthy athletes of African or Afro-Caribbean descent, according to...
