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Taking stock of your or your family member's health is crucial. By recognizing risk factors, being mindful
of your overall health, knowing your family's health history, learning about the role of nutrition,
hydration, steroids and even weather conditions can help ensure you remain safe and active on the playing field.
Determine your student athlete's medical history, examine your family's health history and assess potential
risk factors for heart disease before it is too late.
Risk factors to be aware of include:
- Family history of heart disease
- Family history of sudden cardiac arrest at young age (under 50)
- Cigarette smoking and chewing tobacco
- Hypertension
- Cholesterol levels (HDL - "good" cholesterol, LDL - "bad" cholesterol)
- Impaired fasting glucose levels (could lead to diabetes)
- Obesity (measured through Body Mass Index and waist-to-hip ratios)
Ensure that your student athlete receives a sports screening physical with cardiac testing that includes an
electrocardiogram (ECG) and if necessary, an ultrasound of the heart, which is known as an
echocardiography (echo) exam.
Have your student athlete complete a questionnaire that includes questions:
- Do you feel pain in your chest when you are physically active?
- Do you lose your balance because of dizziness?
- Is your doctor currently prescribing drugs for a blood pressure or heart condition?
- Do you always need to "catch up" when running or swimming?
- Have you experienced fainting spells after working out or playing high-energy sports?
Conduct an analysis about your student athlete's risk factors for genetic cardiac conditions, including:
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) - Affecting as many as 1.5 million Americans, HCM is
the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young adults under the age of 30.2
HCM is a congenital cardiovascular condition, meaning it is easily inherited from family
members, and is characterized by enlargement of the left ventricle, resulting in impaired blood flow.3
- Long Q-T Syndrome - Long Q-T, one of the causes of sudden cardiac arrest, is an infrequent,
hereditary disorder of the heart's electrical rhythm that can occur in otherwise-healthy people.
It usually affects children or young adults.4
The analysis should include the following questions:
- Does s/he smoke or drink alcoholic beverages?
- Does s/he have a family history of sudden cardiac arrest, heart disease, diabetes, etc.?
- Does s/he have abnormally high or low cholesterol levels?
- Have there been recent concussions resulting from sports injuries?
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