Olympic athletes have heart problems, tooSome Olympic athletes could be at risk while training and competing because of heart defects or dysfunction that they may not even know about, Italian researchers say. As part of the heart screening process, the Italian medical team incorporates medical history, a physical exam, an ECG and an echocardiogram. They found that 92 athletes had abnormal results, including inherited heart problems, coronary artery disease, hypertension, electrical diseases such as atrial fibrillation and tachycardias. In fact, no medical evaluation was universally required for athletes until the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games, they write. “We make a big deal out of these deaths because of the emotional impact, especially among professional and Olympic athletes who represent the epitome of health,” he said.

Source: VietNamNet News January 20, 2017 08:14 UTC