Preventing Sudden Death
Sudden death in athletes is often caused by heart problems, including rhythm problems (such as long QT syndrome), congenital coronary anomalies, myocarditis and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Although all children should have a pre-participation sports physical exam, this is even more important if your child is at risk for sudden death. According to the American Heart Association, these risk factors include:
- having symptoms while exercising, including chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue or syncope/near-syncope (fainting)
- having a heart murmur or high blood pressure in the past
- having other family members with a 'history of premature death (sudden or otherwise), or significant disability from cardiovascular disease in close relative(s) younger than 50 years old or specific knowledge of the occurrence of certain conditions (eg, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, long QT syndrome, Marfan syndrome, or clinically important arrhythmias).'
Other Tips
- Don't let your children play through their pain, which is usually a warning sign that your child needs medical attention.
- Encourage your child to warm up before exercising or playing sports.
- When playing contact sports, make sure your child is playing with other kids of a similar age and size.
- Check that playing surfaces are properly maintained and are using the safest equipment available (such as breakaway bases in baseball which can prevent sliding injuries, padding on goal posts, etc.).
- Teach your children to avoid dietary supplements, such as gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), gamma butyrolactone (GBL), and 1,4 butanediol (BD), and so-called performance enhancing substances, such as creatine and androstenedione.
- Make sure that your children are supervised by an adult that has training in injury prevention, first aid and CPR.
