Survey of Pediatric Cardiologists on Screening for Conditions Associated with Sudden Cardiac Death

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in children and adolescents is rare but receives considerable attention due to its tragic nature. Even so, guidelines, provider practice and opinion regarding pre-participation screening for conditions associated with SCD in young competitive athletes and non-athletes remain varied. We sought to determine the recommendations on this topic from practicing pediatric cardiology providers. An anonymous survey regarding pediatric cardiovascular providers' opinions and practices on the screening of high school aged youth for conditions associated with SCD was collected from the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery and the Pediheart.net online community. Responses were evaluated and compared between pediatric electrophysiologists and all other respondents. A slight majority of respondents (56.8%) believe that pre-participation screening for conditions associated with SCD high school age individuals should not be different based on one's status as a competitive athlete. Respondents felt that the current emphasis on pre-participation screening for competitive high school athletes varied with respondents considering it too little in 26.1% appropriate in 42.2% and too much in 31.7%. Our survey reflects the clinical recommendations of practicing pediatric cardiologists and pediatric electrophysiologists. Overall, our data does not demonstrate a consensus on the role of ECG for pre-participation screening, and there is no obvious desire for increased universal screening of high school aged individuals among pediatric cardiology providers.