New research showing that sudden cardiac death strikes one in 5,200 males in Division I basketball is likely to intensify one of the hottest debates in college sports: Should NCAA athletes undergo electrical cardiac screening?
The new study is based on autopsies, death certificates and other research on 79 cases of sudden cardiac death in NCAA athletes over the last decade. Ten of the 79 were male basketball players. “As we keep looking at this we are going to find more and more evidence that will support what we are saying,” said lead author Kimberly Harmon, a University of Washington sports-medicine physician who advocates EK screening for some or all college athletes. EKG, or electrocardiogram, is a noninvasive test that can detect many of the causes of sudden cardiac death.
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