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The death of a young athlete is the kind of tragedy that inspires poetry and shakes communities. Although such events are rare, there is great interest in identifying individuals at risk and intervening before a fatal event occurs.
Physicians are often challenged to make judgments about risk in individuals who have abnormal 12-lead electrocardiograms but no evidence of structural heart disease. To determine whether an abnormal ECG is a marker of risk in athletically conditioned individuals, investigators analyzed a database of electrocardiographic and echocardiographic findings from 12,550 Italian athletes. The investigators identified 81 athletes with electrocardiographic — but no echocardiographic — abnormalities at initial examination (me…