Screening for cardiovascular disease in the young.

America's youth have been screened for cardiovascular disorders for nearly a century. Initial efforts to detect rheumatic heart disease in schoolchildren have gradually shifted to the detection of congenital heart disease in the fetus and newborn, and to the prevention of sudden cardiac death in older children, especially athletes. Proposed screening programs need to consider sensitivity and specificity, cost, resource availability, and the potential for adverse effects of the screening process.