Recently we have talked about Sudden Cardiac Death. SCD is a sudden, unexpected death caused by loss of heart function and it is one of the largest causes of natural death in the United States. This is common in athletes because they are constantly having their heart rate up when working out.
Some characteristics such as gender, race, and sports come into play with these incidents. Increased risk group includes Black males that play sports such as basketball, football, and soccer. Decreased risk group includes White and Hispanic females. This occurs 1 in 53,000 athletes every year.
List of Athletes who have suffered SCA:
Mohamed Abdelwahab, soccer
Gaines Adams, American football
Jaouad Akaddar, soccer
Davide Astori, soccer
Víctor Hugo Ávalos, soccer
Heath Benedict, American football
Hédi Berkhissa, soccer
Viktor Blinov, ice hockey
Gilbert Bulawan, basketball
J. V. Cain, Amer. football
Sékou Camara,), soccer
Alexei Cherepanov, ice hockey
Mitchell Cole, soccer
Many genetics come into play as well such as coronary artery disease, Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Coronary artery anomalies. It is always important to make sure to get year check ups when playing any sports.
-Amanda Goh, Executive Intern