Abstract des Autors

Sudden cardiac death during exercise and sport is often the first, but sadly definite manifestation of an unrecognised, underlying, often asymptomatic heart disease. While it is an extremely rare event, the enormous tragedy always raises the question of whether it could have been avoided with appropriate preventive measures.
In 1998 the Swiss Society of Sports Medicine (SGSM) published one of the first official international recommendations to prevent sudden cardiac death. Overall, this recommendation still widely corresponds to today’s level of knowledge.
After the landmark publication of Corrado et al. in which they followed 12- to 37-year-old competitive athletes over 25 years with a 12-lead ECG that lead to a reduction of sudden cardiac death by 89%, rethinking has started worldwide. While a targeted medical history (questionnaire in accordance with the “Lausanne Recommendations” of the IOC) and a clinical exam was also included, the significance of an ECG at rest in the prevention of sudden cardiac death was undoubtedly proven.