BACKGROUND: Aortic dilatation can be lethal for young competitive athletes. The prevalence among athletes is not known, however, and thus a reasonable approach to early recognition remains uncertain. METHODS AND RESULTS: Echocardiograms of 1929 normotensive athletes 15 to 34 years of age were analyzed. Five (0.26%) athletes had aortic dilatation; 4 of the 5 played basketball. This made the prevalence of aortic dilatation 0.96% (4 of 415) among basketball and volleyball players, who represented a population of especially tall athletes. Tallness aside, only 2 of the 5 athletes had features of Marfan syndrome. Among the athletes without aortic dilatation, the relation between body surface area and aortic root dimension was nonlinear and best described with a quadratic regression model. Athletes with aortic dilatation fell well outside the 95% confidence interval. CONCLUSION: Because a higher incidence of aortic dilatation is to be anticipated among very tall athletes, inclusion of echocardiography in screening before participation in certain sports should be considered.
BACKGROUND: Aortic dilatation can be lethal for young competitive athletes. The prevalence among athletes is not known, however, and thus a reasonable approach to early recognition remains uncertain. METHODS AND RESULTS: Echocardiograms of 1929 normotensive athletes 15 to 34 years of age were analyzed. Five (0.26%) athletes had aortic dilatation; 4 of the 5 played basketball. This made the prevalence of aortic dilatation 0.96% (4 of 415) among basketball and volleyball players, who represented a population of especially tall athletes. Tallness aside, only 2 of the 5 athletes had features of Marfan syndrome. Among the athletes without aortic dilatation, the relation between body surface area and aortic root dimension was nonlinear and best described with a quadratic regression model. Athletes with aortic dilatation fell well outside the 95% confidence interval. CONCLUSION: Because a higher incidence of aortic dilatation is to be anticipated among very tall athletes, inclusion of echocardiography in screening before participation in certain sports should be considered.
Authors: James L Gentry; David Carruthers; Parag H Joshi; Christopher D Maroules; Colby R Ayers; James A de Lemos; Philip Aagaard; Rory Hachamovitch; Milind Y Desai; Eric E Roselli; Reginald E Dunn; Kezia Alexander; Andrew E Lincoln; Andrew M Tucker; Dermot M Phelan Journal: Circ Cardiovasc Imaging Date: 2017-11 Impact factor: 7.792
Authors: Sara Ringmark; Arne Lindholm; Ulf Hedenström; Michael Lindinger; Kristina Dahlborn; Clarence Kvart; Anna Jansson Journal: Acta Vet Scand Date: 2015-03-20 Impact factor: 1.695
Authors: Fred Reifsteck; James R Clugston; Stephen Carek; Kimberly G Harmon; Breton Michael Asken; Michael C Dillon; Joan Street; Katherine M Edenfield Journal: BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med Date: 2019-06-06