Efficacy of pre-participation cardiac evaluation recommendations among athletes participating in World Athletics Championships. (September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dahlström, Örjan; Adami, Paolo Emilio; Fagher, Kristina; Jacobsson, Jenny; Bargoria, Victor; Gauffin, Håkan; Hansson, Per-Olof; Andersson, Christer; Bermon, Stéphane; Timpka, Toomas
• Is Part Of: European journal of preventive cardiology. Volume 27:Number 14(2020)
• Page Start: 1480
• Page End: 1490
• Publication Date: 2020-09
• Subjects: Pre-participation cardiac evaluation -- cardiac screening -- sudden cardiac death prevention -- athletics -- track and field -- IAAF -- World Athletics; Cardiovascular system -- Diseases -- Prevention -- Periodicals; Cardiac patients -- Rehabilitation -- Periodicals; 616.12
• DOI: 10.1177/2047487319884385
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2047-4873

Abstract

Background: Athletes competing in athletics (track and field) at international level may be participating with underlying undiagnosed life-threatening cardiovascular conditions. Our objective was to analyse variations in pre-participation cardiac evaluation prevalence among athletes participating in two International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Athletics Championships, with regard to the human developmental level and global region of their home countries, as well as athletes' age category, gender, event group and medical insurance type. Design: Cross-sectional web-based survey. Methods: A total of 1785 athletes competing in the IAAF World Under 18 Championships Nairobi 2017 and World Championships London 2017 were invited to complete a pre-participation health questionnaire investigating the experience of a pre-participation cardiac examination. Results: A total of 704 (39%) of the athletes participated. Among these, 59% (60% of women; 58% of men) reported that they had been provided at least one type of pre-participation cardiac evaluation. Athletes from very high income countries, Europe and Asia, showed a higher prevalence of at least one pre-participation cardiac evaluation. Conclusions: The prevalence of pre-participation cardiac evaluation in low to middle income countries, and the African continent in particular, needs urgent attention. Furthermore, increases in evaluation prevalence should be accompanied by the development of cost-effective methods that can be adopted in all global regions.