For a long time, young athletes have been forced to end their sports careers when diagnosed with a genetic heart condition that can cause sudden cardiac death. However, a 20-year Mayo Clinic study that followed many athletes who were later cleared to return to sports suggests that the risks are manageable, thanks to a shared decision-making process.

The results of the retrospective study were presented during the Heart Rhythm Society's annual meeting in July and published in the journal of the American College of Cardiology.

A study examined 672 athletes with inherited heart conditions that predisposed them to sudden cardiac arrest. Of these athletes, 495 had long QT syndrome, a genetic heart condition that can cause fainting, seizures, sudden cardiac arrest, and even sudden cardiac death.

Combining over 2,000 years of medical follow-up, there were no sports-related deaths among athletes diagnosed with genetic heart disease who chose to resume sports. Cardiac events considered disease progressions—such as fainting due to arrhythmia, seizures, symptomatic ventricular tachycardia, and warranted implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shocks—occurred during and after sports, but none were fatal. Most athletes did not have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and none required a rescue shock from an automated external defibrillator (AED), even though such a device was part of the athlete's safety equipment and emergency medical plan. These data show that athletes in the cohort had an annual probability of just over 1 percent of experiencing a non-fatal event while participating in sports.

- Written by Mayo Clinic staff.