HawthorneVillager.com

Tragic. Happens far too often with athletes who are thought to be in perfect condition.

" Sudden death in young athletes is often due to some congenital abnormality of the heart that is sometimes asymptomatic, making it a silent killer. A majority of these cases are due to a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This inherited defect causes the muscular wall of the heart (often the middle wall called the septum) to be asymmetrically or irregularly enlarged. This interferes with, or prevents, blood from flowing out of the heart when it is beating fast during exercise. Only about a quarter of patients will have symptoms such as chest pain, fainting or a heart murmur. Unfortunately, sometimes sudden death during exercise may be the first sign of this condition. "

" These tragedies are refueling the debate and controversy over whether all young athletes participating in organized sports in the U.S. should be getting an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) to screen them for heart disease. "

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-vin ... 21483.html

Yikes, and then what? Ban those kids from playing sports on the off-chance that they might have problem? Ban them from some sports (the fun ones) but not others? At what percentage of risk do we start the excluding?

Or worse, let them play, and saddle the parents with decades of guilt for allowing their children to play when they should have been keeping them at home watching TV for their safety.

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omnia dicta fortiori, si dicta Latina