Cardiovascular Workups: When and How Much of a Workup to Assess the Ability to Participate in Sports?

Dr. Paul Thompson, Director of Cardiology, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT moderated the topic "Cardiovascular Workups: When and How Much of a Workup to Assess the Ability to Participate in Sports?" with Drs. Mark Estes, Professor of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, Rachel Lampert, Associate Professor, Yale University, New Haven, CT and Ben Levine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX. The screening of athletes has become an area of hot debate as well as an area of intense public health interest. While the medical community is well aware of the benefits of exercise, exercise also has been shown paradoxically and specifically in young athletes, to increase the risk of sudden cardiac death. The roundtable experts discuss recommendations as to how to screen these athletes and in addition, they address what physicians may do before a patient who is not an athlete, and perhaps also middle-aged, wants to start an exercise program. The American College of Cardiology has suggested that diabetics, men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 55 need exercise stress tests. This recommendation has never been examined very carefully and is labelled as "Level of Evidence 2B," essentially meaning that there is some support for this recommendation, but no randomized control trial data. The roundtable experts discuss these topics. (Med Roundtable Cardiovasc Ed. 2010;1(1):61-68) ©2010 FoxP2 Media, LLC