About 1 in every 44,000 NCAA athletes dies of a cardiac problem every year, with the highest rate occurring among basketball players, according to the first comprehensive study of the problem. The results are higher than some experts had thought and suggest that increased screening of at least some players might reduce the death rate, researchers reported Monday in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Assn.
Dr. Kimberly Harmon, a sports medicine specialist at the University of Washington in Seattle, and her colleagues used newspaper reports, insurance claims and data from the National Collegiate Athletic Assn., the governing body for college athletics. About 400,000 students, ages 17 to 23, participate in NCAA-sanctioned sports. Tracking deaths from 2004 through 2008, the researchers found 273 deaths from all causes, 29% of which were from medical causes. Of the deaths from medical causes, 45 were cardiovascular-related sudden deaths. Overall, the team found that 1 in 43,770 athletes died annually of sudden cardiac deaths.
