Cardiac issues in the young athlete

Young athletes are disproportionately plagued with congenital cardiac disease. Many of these diseases predispose to sudden cardiac death (SCD), a dramatic and tragic outcome for any young athlete. In many cases, conditions that predispose to SCD do not cause symptoms or show signs on examination, making diagnosis of cardiac disease and prevention of SCD difficult. Clinicians should be familiar with common causes of SCD and their symptoms, perform careful evaluations, refer athletes in whom there are concerns, and make sure any concerning findings receive thorough evaluation. Clinicians should also be familiar with and follow recent guidelines on return to play. Unfortunately, most preparticipation examinations are inadequate, due in part to use of inadequate forms. Better forms are available and should replace inadequate ones.