Being an elite athlete does not protect from some forms of heart disease – and, according to a new study, large numbers of highly trained sportspeople are at risk.
A screening programme involved more than 2,000 athletes found some 7.3% with heart abnormalities, a European conference has been told.
The athletes were all due to take part in Olympic games over the last decade – and six had to be prevented from taking part because of the high risk of sudden cardiac death.
Another 24 took part under close medical surveillance.
The screening found a total of 171 out of 2,354 athletes with heart abnormalities, which were either structural or electrophysiological <!heart rhythm problems>.
The findings were reported to a conference on heart disease prevention organised by the European Society of Cardiology.
Researcher Dr Paulo Adami, from the Institute of Sport Medicine and Science, Rome, said: "Even Olympic athletes, regardless of their superior physical performance and astonishing achievements, showed an unexpected large prevalence of cardiovascular abnormalities, including life-threatening conditions.
He added: "We cannot take it for granted that elite athletes are healthy. This study demonstrates that a more accurate assessment is necessary for elite professional athletes than for members of the general population, in view of the intensity and stress on their cardiovascular system through so many hours of training and competition.
"We suggest that our model of screening is applied to all elite athletes, regardless of the sport they practise."
Efficacy of a tailored screening protocol: a six Olympic games screening experience. Presented at EuroPRevent 2015, Lisbon. 15 May 2015
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