Comprehensive Prevention of Exercise-related Sudden Cardiac Arrest or Death.

Abstract

Exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest or death (SCA/D) is defined as SCA/D during sports or exercise, or within 1 hour of exercise cessation (1). When exercise-related SCA/D occurs during competitive sport in a young athlete, it often attracts significant media attention and concern. However, most exercise-related SCA/D occurs in middle-aged recreational sports participants (2). The effectiveness and appropriateness of widespread cardiovascular screening to prevent exercise-related SCA/D is uncertain. Appropriate resuscitation measures, facilitated by emergency action planning (EAP) and timely access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs), remains the mainstay of sudden cardiac death (SCD) prevention (1).