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(Circulation. 1998;97:2294.)
© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.

AHA Scientific Statement

Cardiovascular Preparticipation Screening of Competitive Athletes: Addendum

An Addendum to a Statement for Health Professionals From the Sudden Death Committee (Council on Clinical Cardiology) and the Congenital Cardiac Defects Committee (Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young), American Heart Association

Writing Group; Barry J. Maron, MD, Chair; Paul D. Thompson, MD; James C. Puffer, MD; Christopher A. McGrew, MD; William B. Strong, MD; Pamela S. Douglas, MD; Luther T. Clark, MD; Matthew J. Mitten, JD; Michael D. Crawford, MD; Dianne L. Atkins, MD; David J. Driscoll, MD; ; Andrew E. Epstein, MD

Key Words: AHA Medical/Scientific Statements • exercise • sudden death

In 1996 the American Heart Association published a scientific statement on screening for cardiovascular abnormalities in young athletes participating in organized sports programs in US high schools and colleges. "Cardiovascular Preparticipation Screening of Competitive Athletes" (Circulation. 1996;94:850–856) served as a critique of current and past screening practices and offered several specific recommendations for future screening endeavors, including the content of history and physical examination questionnaires, the nature and qualifications of designated examiners, and the timing of preparticipation examinations. This statement has become a well-known guideline endorsed by other medical and exercise science organizations.

However, the recommendation for timing of preparticipation evaluations has become the source of some discussion. In the original statement, the writing group recommended that "both a history and a physical examination be performed before participation in organized ... collegiate sports. Screening should then be repeated every 2 years. In intervening years an interim history should be obtained."

In July 1997 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports expressed concern about this recommendation. First, the NCAA questioned whether there were substantive scientific data to support the AHA viewpoint. Second, a full preparticipation physical examination routinely performed every 2 years is in fact not now a customary practice for the majority of US colleges and universities. The NCAA believed that, lacking medical evidence to support the recommendation, such a change in protocol would place a considerable burden on the annual screening process for the 300 000 NCAA athletes. The . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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