Returning to play ‘low risk’ for elite athletes with well-managed genetic heart disease
Athletes can safely play again after treatment, risk stratification and shared decision-making, US doctors say.
Elite-level athletes who return to competitive sport after being diagnosed with a genetic heart disease have a low risk of cardiac events, show results from a first-of-its-kind study.
Just three out of 76 athletes in the cohort had non-fatal breakthrough cardiac events after return to play — a finding US cardiologists say challenges the historically “paternalistic” approach of disqualifying or restricting play for those with genetic heart diseases.
