Research in Sudden Death in Athletes

A major contribution into the current understanding of sudden death in athletes has been made by Dr. Barry J. Maron, MD, FACC, FESC. Dr. Maron is a nationally and internationally recognized clinical cardiologist and expert researcher in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and sudden death in athletes. Since 1985, he has systematically assembled cases of competitive athletes that died suddenly. Those deaths were identified from news media, the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury, the cardiovascular pathology registry of Baylor University Medical Center, and informal communications and reports from high schools and colleges. Dr. Maron has written over 100 articles on the topic of sudden deaths in athletes together with approximately 50 abstracts that were presented at national and international cardiology and sports medicine conferences. He has chaired many national and international conferences on sudden death in athletes. To see the list of publications of Dr. Maron on sudden death in athletes, click here.

Many researchers made substantial contributions to our current understanding of sudden death in athletes as a phenomenon. Some of them are:

• Christina Basso, MD, University of Padua, Italy;
• Charles A. Berul, MD, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, US;
• Saroja Bharati, MD, Finch University of Health Science and Rush University, Chicago, IL, US;
• David S. Cannom, MD, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, US;
• Melvin D. Cheitlin, MD, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, US;
• Domenico Corrado, MD, University of Padua, Italy;
• N.A. Mark Estes, III, MD, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, US;
• Gerald Fletcher, MD, Mayo Medical School, Rochester, MN, US;
• Carey S. Kimmelstiel, MD, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, US;
• Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, US;
• Susan B. Kyle, PhD, US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Bethesda, MD, US;
• Mark S. Link, MD, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, US;
• Frank I. Marcus, MD, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, US;
• Christopher A. McGrew, MD, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, US;
• Matthew J. Mitten, JD, South Texas College of Law, Houston, TX, US;
• Robert J. Myerburg, MD, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, US;
• Antionio Pelliccia, MD, University of Rome, Rome, Italy;
• Deeb N. Salem, MD, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, US;
• Gaetano Thiene, MD, University of Padua, Padua, Italy;
• Paul D. Thompson, MD, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT, US;
• James Udelson, MD, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, US;
• Paul J. Wang, MD, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, US;
• Richard A. Williams, MD UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, US;
• ... and many others, including research associates, fellows, assistants, laboratory technicians and administrative assistants that made the work of the research physicians and scientists possible.

To search articles by these and other researchers, click here.

Books on sudden death in athletes may be found at:

• Amazon.com
• Barnes & Noble
• Karger AG
• Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

To view current research in sudden death in athletes funded by the National Institutes of Health, click here.

Currently ongoing genetic studies may help us better understand the complex mechanism of sudden death. The major genetic research centers are at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, and at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, MN.

The following organizations may have more information on various aspects of sudden death in athletes:

American Heart Association

American College of Cardiology

Food and Drug Administration

NASPE

National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association

For More Information:

For more information on the causes of sudden death in athletes identified to date, click here.

For more information on research and publications in medical journals on sudden death in athletes, click here.

For information on sudden death in athletes appeared in the news, click here.

For information regarding pre-participation screening of athletes and current initiatives, click here.