Lavie CJ, Harmon KG.

Serious cardiovascular disease (CVD) and particularly sudden cardiac death (SCD) in a young person, including an athlete, is a rare, but tragic event with far-reaching implications for families and communities (2,3). Families who are directly affected by these relatively rare events struggle to comprehend why more effective screening strategies are not routine and standardized in most of the Westernized World, including the United States and Europe. Besides the devastating blow to the families involved, these tragic events are also devastating to the community, which often calls for more vigorous screening of athletes, regardless of the cost.

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