 Provided by ReachMD
Should We Add ECG to Routine Screening
of Young Athletes?
on Heart Matters
Produced in cooperation with American College of Cardiology
Sudden cardiac death among high school or college athletes is rare but tragic, and is jarring to families, friends and communities. What additional measures can physicians take to prevent sudden cardiac death among these students? Current guidelines for screening of young athletes in the U.S. do not include electrocardiography but should they, especially in light of recent Italian research about the efficacy of EKG screenings in preventing sudden cardiac death in this population? Dr. Paul Heidenreich, associate professor of medicine (cardiovascular) and associate professor by courtesy of health research and policy, at the Veteran's Affairs (VA) Palo Alto Health Care System, and fellow of the Center for Health Policy and the Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research at Stanford University, weighs the benefits and risks of widespread use of ECGs in the screening of young athletes. Is there a reasonable cost effectiveness value to adding ECG to routine screening for these patients, compared to a routine medical history and physical exam? How should physicians discuss the value of ECG screening with young adult athletes and their parents? Hosted by Dr. Janet Wright.
 Dr. Janet S. Wright is the senior vice president for science and quality at the American College of Cardiology (ACC), a post she has held since May of 2008. She practiced invasive cardiology for 23 years as a partner in Northstate Cardiology Consultants, located in Chico, Calif. Dr. Wright has served on the Board of Trustees of the ACC and most recently chaired the College's Presidential Task Force on Performance Assessment, Recognition, Reinforcement, Reward, and Reporting (PAR4). She is a member of the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Physician Programs Committee and of the National Committee on Evidence-based Benefit Design of the National Business Group on Health. Dr. Wright serves on the board of the Center for Information Therapy, an independent non-profit organization committed to the provision of personalized health information during each healthcare encounter. She is also a fellow of the ACC. Since its inception in December of 2003, Dr. Wright has been a member of the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee, the 29-person board charged with administering the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, as outlined by the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. She received her medical doctorate at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine and completed her residency at the Children's Hospital and Adult Medicine Center in San Francisco. She then finished her cardiovascular fellowship at San Francisco General Hospital at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Paul Heidenreich is associate professor of medicine (cardiovascular medicine) and health research and policy at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He is a practicing non-invasive cardiologist and directs the VA's Chronic Heart Failure Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, a center whose goal is to improve heart failure care throughout the VA system. Dr. Heidenreich has an extensive background in health services research in the areas of evidence-based medicine, quality improvement, and cost-effectiveness research. Dr. Heidenreich received his MD from the University of Chicago, and his MS in health services research at Stanford University School of Medicine. He completed an internship at the University of California at Los Angeles, and a residency at the University of California at San Francisco. He completed a cardiovascular imaging fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Institute University of California at San Francisco, a clinical fellowship in cardiology at the University of California at San Francisco and a research fellowship at the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research at Stanford University.
ReachMD, an innovative communications company, provides thought-provoking medical news and information to healthcare practitioners. Established to help increasingly time-constrained medical providers stay abreast of new research, treatment protocols and continuing education requirements, ReachMD delivers innovative and informative radio programming via XM Satellite Radio Channel 160 and online streaming developed by healthcare professionals for healthcare professionals.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE
You must be logged in
to recommend articles
|
