Mass EKG screening for athletes inadvisable, panel says
Doctors recommend testing only those with warning signs of cardiac problems
By Laura Beil
Mass screening young athletes for hidden heart defects using electrocardiograms isn’t justified by the evidence, according to a scientific statement released September 15 by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. Universal EKG screening would potentially cost about $2 billion in the first year and risk both false-negative and false-positive results, the authors caution.
The recommendation is the latest chapter in an ongoing debate over whether widespread EKG screening could prevent sudden cardiac death (SN: 4/5/14, p. 22). Some countries already employ universal EKG screening programs for sports participation, and advocates have argued that the practice could identify young athletes in danger before they collapse. One frequently cited estimate suggests that 1 out of every 200,000 high school athletes dies suddenly in the United States each year.