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Assessment of the Athlete for Sports Participation

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Pediatric and Congenital Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery and Intensive Care

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Abstract

The assessment of the athlete for sports participation remains important as a means to identify those individuals who may have an underlying cardiovascular anomaly that increases their risk for sudden cardiac arrest during practice or competition. The basic requirements for assessment include a thorough history and physical examination. The use of a routine screening electrocardiogram (ECG) and/or echocardiogram remains controversial, though the specificity of ECG screening continues to improve as criteria specific to the athletic population are developed and tested. Given its versatility for screening for multiple structural and electrical cardiovascular anomalies, the ECG is often the first ancillary test performed when concern arises during the initial evaluation. Echocardiography, exercise stress testing, ambulatory ECG monitoring, and chest radiography provide additional diagnostic information when concerning historical or examination findings are uncovered.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, The Medical College of Wisconsin, 9000 W. Wisconsin Ave, MS 713, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA

    Joshua Kovach

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, The Herma Heart Center The Medical College of Wisconsin, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Stuart Berger

Authors
  1. Joshua Kovach
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  2. Stuart Berger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joshua Kovach .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital Colorado, Univ. of Colorado, Denver, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    Eduardo M. Da Cruz

  2. Dept. Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital Colorado, Univ. of Colorado, Denver, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    Dunbar Ivy

  3. Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Children's Hospital Colorado, Univ. of Colorado, Denver, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    James Jaggers

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag London

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Kovach, J., Berger, S. (2014). Assessment of the Athlete for Sports Participation. In: Da Cruz, E., Ivy, D., Jaggers, J. (eds) Pediatric and Congenital Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery and Intensive Care. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4619-3_217

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4619-3_217

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-4618-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-4619-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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