LAUSR

Currently, history, clinical assessment, electrocardiogram (ECG) and conventional echocardiography are the cornerstones of the pre-participation athletic evaluation. The Association for European Pediatric Cardiology recommends that cardiovascular screening should be performed on athletes when they start their competitive activity. In 1996, the English Football Association introduced a mandatory cardiovascular screening program including ECG and echocardiography in all youth academy players from 15 to 17 years of age. In a recent study from Maholtra et al., there were 46 cases of high-risk cardiovascular disease in 11,168 players of this highly trained cohort. During a mean follow-up period of 10.6 years, there were eight deaths due to cardiac disorders, all of which were sudden and occurred during exercise. Cardiomyopathies accounted for seven of eight (88%) sudden cardiac deaths. Six athletes (75%) with sudden cardiac death had normal cardiac screening results in ECG and conventional echocardiography. Nowadays, in European elite junior football, competitive sports start at a younger age. Players receive a scholar contract with a view to progressing to a professional senior career at an age of 12–13 years. Therefore, there is a high interest in sports cardiology for an effective screening algorithm to detect cardiovascular abnormalities as early as possible.