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| Study shows tests could identify at-risk youth athletes |
| Jeannine Stein/ LA Times |
| 3/3/2010 |
| Screening young athletes for heart abnormalities with an electrocardiogram test may be a cost-effective way to identify at-risk youth and save lives, according to a new study. But the findings may also add fuel to what has become an often emotional debate. Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine examined sudden cardiac deaths among U.S. high school and college athletes aged 14 to 22 and conducted a calculation to see what influence various types of screenings would have. They found that adding an ECG to two common screens already in place -- a physical and taking a health history of each athlete focusing on cardiovascular fitness -- could be expected to save about two years of life per 1,000 athletes at a cost of $89 per athlete. (Analyses of this type commonly refer to years of life saved instead of referring to individual lives.) The total cost of adding the ECG screening test would be $42,900 per year of life saved, the authors found -- a sum that is in line with other healthcare expenditures that society undertakes, such as the cost of dialysis for patients with chronic kidney disease ($20,000-$80,000 per year of life saved) or public access to defibrillators ($55,000-$162,000). *** the number of young athletes who die from sudden cardiac death is still under dispute. * ** But routine ECG screens may be impractical, said Dr. Barry Maron, director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, who wrote an editorial accompanying the report. Complications include the sheer number of tests that would be needed; the fact that tests would exclude non-athletes who may also have genetic cardiovascular conditions; and that disqualifying an athlete because of a pre-existing heart condition could lead to lawsuits, he said. In addition, ECG readings are estimated to have a 7% to 20% rate of false positives, which could lead to further invasive testing that may not be warranted. * * * "This is a hugely important study," said Dr. Jonathan Drezner, an associate professor of family medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle who has studied sudden cardiac death among athletes. "I think the results need to be considered, to see what is the appropriate protocol in the U.S." To read complete article go to: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-athletes-heart2-2010mar02,0,2370911.story |
| Additional Information: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-athletes-heart2-2010mar02,0,2370911.story |