Outcomes of Cardiac Screening in Adolescent Soccer Players

To the Editor: The study by Malhotra et al. (Aug. 9 issue) 1 showed that participation in competitive sports increased the likelihood of sudden cardiac death. Furthermore, screening adolescent athletes with electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography made it possible to identify potentially lethal cardiac disorders in asymptomatic athletes, so that sudden death could be prevented through disqualification from competitive sports. However, in the study, six of the eight adolescents who died from sudden cardiac death had had completely normal results on cardiovascular screening; this suggests that in many affected persons, some cardiomyopathies may still not manifest during adolescence. However, the rate of . . .