Echocardiography could dramatically improve the effectiveness of efforts to identify athletes at risk of sudden death, according to a European study.
Researchers said a trial of the technique found several high risk athletes who had not been detected by the conventional protocol.
The study of some 500 athletes in Slovakia was reported to the EuroEcho-Imaging conference in Istanbul, Turkey.
The standard European screening test, involving electro-cardiogram, physical exam and details of family history, failed to identify any athletes at risk.
When echocardiograms were used, heart problems were found in 14 athletes.
<!Seven (1.4%) had mitral valve prolapse (haemodynamically significant in 1 case), 3 (0.6%) had bicuspid aortic valve (significant aortic stenosis in 1 case) and 4 (0.8%) had myocarditis, myocardial bridging, non-compaction of the left ventricle or coronary artery fistula.>
The researchers said that four of the athletes had subsequently to stop taking part in sports temporarily or permanently.
Researcher Dr Alexander Kisko, from Presov, Slovakia, said the echocardiogram technique should be added at first to screening for the most high risk athletes, taking part in sports such as marathons, cycling and triathlon.
He said: "Sudden cardiac death in young and apparently healthy athletes has long been considered rare but there is evidence that deaths occur as often as once every three days. These deaths are usually caused by undiagnosed cardiovascular abnormalities but diagnostic screening is considered too expensive and is delivered sporadically.
"The medical community must become more involved in reducing the incidence and prevalence of sudden cardiac death through an improved pre-participation screening process."
He added: "Pre-participation sports screening is not very popular with athletes because they do not want to be excluded from their sport if a cardiac abnormality is found.
"But when an apparently healthy athlete dies suddenly it is a tragic event which may lead the public to believe that exercise is not good for them."
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