Can electrocardiographic screening prevent sudden death in athletes? Yes

The European Society of Cardiology has supported electrocardiography based screening for competitive athletes since 2005, and the International Olympic Committee endorsed a similar approach in a policy statement in 2009.1 2 These position statements have raised interest in the scientific community and general public, and fuelled the current debate regarding the efficacy of pre-participation electrocardiographic screening to detect the risk of cardiovascular diseases in young athletes and to reduce deaths.