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Exercise-related sudden cardiac death (SCD) is primarily due to coronary artery disease in adults and to congenital, genetic, and acquired cardiovascular disorders in younger persons. In 1982, a compulsory screening program for participation in sports was introduced in Italy. The screening was based on personal history, family history, physical examination, and electrocardiogram findings. These authors studied trends in SCD in unscreened nonathletes and screened athletes aged 12 to 35 years in Italy from 1979 to 2004. A parallel study compared the incidence of disqualification from competitive sports for screened athletes.
During the study period, the annual incidence of SCD in athletes decreased from 3.6 to 0.4 per 100,000 person-years. The…