Puzzling deaths of fit athletes
We protect their musculoskeletal system, we protect their brains, we protect their nutritional status, so why can’t we protect their hearts? try and find out
can’t we protect their hearts?” In sudden cardiac death (SCD), the heart abruptly and unexpectedly stops working. Experts describe it as an “electrical problem”, often caused by a heart rhythm disorder called ventricular fibrillation.
In sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), which was what brought Bolton Wanderers midfielder Muamba to the ground, the heart is no longer able to pump blood to the rest of the body.
Fortunately, Muamba recovered but University College London sports scientist Richard Weiler says cases like his are likely to continue to crop up despite some screening programmes.
He says the main problem is they are still poorly understood.
“Each young athletic life lost to SCD or blighted by a sudden cardiac arrest is a powerful reminder that despite our growing knowledge, we still lack many answers to basic questions about these afflictions,” Weiler and a team of other sports science experts wrote in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) on Saturday.
One of the most obvious knowledge gaps is in the numbers.
Experts say SCD is rare – affecting just a handful of people out of every 100 000 – but it also appears to be more common in athletes than in the general population.
Some sports scientists say more widespread screening may be the answer’