Sudden death in athletes. Precompetition screening

In our society, athletes project the ultimate image of well. being in the h ealth status spectrum. Though very uncommon, the sudden death of a young at hlete has always great impact on the community and the athlete's surroundin gs (physicians, athletes, coaches, etc.). Due both to this and to the growi ng number of physical exercise practitioners, there is an increasing demand for more and precise information on the recommendations of participation i n certain sports with the minimum possible risk. Together with the most recent and detailed statistics concerning the cardio vascular causes of sudden death in athletes, the objective of the present a rticle is to review the present controversy regarding the preparticipation medical examination as a useful method to identify those athletes with grea ter potential risk, as well as to propose a few and simple recommendations concerning the tests that should be performed in each case.