Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome and asymptomatic ventricular pre-excitation: implications in sports cardiology.

摘要

Approximately 4,500,000 young athletes participate annually in competitive high school, collegiate, and professional sports in the United States (1). These athletes are at increased risk for sudden cardiac death as a result of their participation in sports. It is estimated that several hundred young athletes die each year from sports-related deaths, mainly from pre-existing heart disease (1). Significant effort has been applied to the problem of identifying those rare individuals at the greatest risk. The American College of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology have produced guidelines regarding the appropriate screening of athletes prior to sports participation (2,3).