Athletes and Cardiac Death
I. Cardiac Causes of Sudden Death in Young Athletes
II. Sudden Death not Associated with Cardiac Disease
III. Athlete’s Heart Versus Hypertrophic Cardiomyop-athy
GLOSSARY
anomaly marked deviation from normal, especially as a result of congenital or hereditary defects.
arrhythmia general term for an irregularity or rapidity of the heartbeat, an abnormal heart rhythm.
atheroma same as atherosclerosis, raised plaques filled with cholesterol, calcium, and other substances on the inner wall of arteries that obstruct the lumen and the flow of blood; the plaque of atheroma hardens the artery, hence the term atherosclerosis (sclerosis ¼ hardening).
Holter monitor a machine, the size of a handbook, that is capable of recording 24–48 h of continuous electrocardio-graphic monitoring; the tracing is used to assess abnormal heart rhythms, particularly serious arrhythmias.
hypertrophy increase in thickness of muscle.
myocardium the heart muscle.
sarcomere the contractile unit of a myofibril; sarcomeres are repeating units, delimited by the Z bands, along the length of the myofibril that make up the myocardium of the heart.
sudden cardiac death A death from cardiac cause that occurs instantaneously or within the hour of the onset of symptoms; the hallmark features are an instantaneous and unexpected time and mode of cardiac death.
- I. CARDIAC CAUSES OF SUDDEN DEATH IN YOUNG ATHLETES
A. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy - II. SUDDEN DEATH NOT ASSOCIATED WITH CARDIAC DISEASE
A. Commotio Cordis - III. ATHLETE’S HEART VERSUS HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY
A. Differentiation - BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ackerman, M. J., Van Driest, S. L., Ommen S. R. et al. Prevalence and