Authors

Antonio Rodríguez Martínez

Position

Diplomado Universitario en Enfermería. MasQsano Salud y Deporte. Almería (España)

Contact address

Antonio Rodríguez Martínez. C/ Chullo, 10. 04470 Laujar de Andarax, Almería (España).

Contact email: antorodri8@hotmail.com

Abstract

Objectives: to detect cardiac alterations in 3-to-17-year-old sportsmen from the provinces of Granada and Almería (Spain).
Method: a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 7,340 sportsmen from sports clubs of Granada and Almería in 2021. A sports medical examination (SME) was conducted, which was compulsory for the competition, by a multidisciplinary team (Medicine, Nursing, Physiotherapy) and according to the guidelines by the European Society of Cardiology. After completing the SME, the Nursing team conducted an educational intervention, providing advice about the sports practice and conducting follow-up for those who required assessment by specialists.
Results: of the sample, 50% (7,340) played football. Fifty-two (52) sportsmen with not-known cardiac conditions were detected (0.69%); added to the 60 with already known cardiac conditions, they amounted to 1.5%. The mean age of the 52 persons with new detection was 10.8; 71.4% were male and the most practiced sport was football (67.3%). The most frequently detected cardiac condition was T-wave inversion (42.3%).
Conclusions: there is a low prevalence of cardiac conditions, representing 1.5% of the sample. The SME applied in the population of child and adolescent athletes is effective in order to detect cardiac conditions. The Nursing staff plays a relevant role in SMEs to help detect cardiac conditions and in the prevention of sudden deaths in sports, including the educational aspect, equipment supervision, and the required assessment and counselling provided to sportsmen.

Keywords:

sudden death; electrocardiography; physical examination; sports medical check-up; athletic performance; disease prevention

Versión en Español

Título:

Rol enfermero en la prevención de muerte súbita del deportista y detección de enfermedades no conocidas