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Friday, September 30, 2011

RESEARCHERS SAY ITALIAN PREPARTICIPATION SPORTS SCREENING PROGRAM IS COST-EFFECTIVE

HeartWire (8/30, O'Riordan) reports that "the Italian model for a preparticipation sports screening program, one that includes a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) for all individuals participating in athletics, is a cost-effective mass-screening program, according to researchers who performed the analysis," which was presented at the European Society of Cardiology 2011 Congress. HeartWire points out that "the cost of widespread screening, as well as the risk of false-positive ECGs that might prevent healthy individuals from participating in sports and the battery of unnecessary tests they will face, have limited the adoption of mass-screening programs in other countries. In the US, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association limit screening to a physical examination and medical history."

POSTED BY STEVEN ALMANY, MD

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