Cardiovascular pre-participation screening in young athletes
KCE Reports 241 (2015)
About 1 million young Belgians (14-34) are member of a sportsclub, and in addition, many others are practicing a sport outside the structure of a sport organization. As we all know, sport is very good for your health. But, unfortunately, but luckily very seldom, it can lead to a sudden death due to cardiac failure. The authorities already have made a lot of effort to limit the risk for sporters. But can we avoid this kind of shocking events by submitting young sporters, without heart complaints, to a systematic heart examination? And what would be the consequences of such a screening for the youngsters, their family, the sport organizations and society from a medical, economical and legal perspective?
The authorities asked the Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre (KCE) to give an answer to these questions, based on objective, scientific evidence. You can find the results of their research in the present page.
How to refer to this report