Essay: Sudden death in young athletes (spoiler: it was extremely rare)

(2010)

"The actual rate of sudden death in young athletes during organised competitive sports is uncertain, but overall is low. Retrospective analyses estimate the prevalence in the USA in high-school and college athletes to be less than one in 100 000 participants per year, and a prospective population-based study in Italy reported a yearly incidence of three per 100 000 athletes aged 35 years or younger. The slight discrepancy could be explained by the older mean age (23 vs 16 years) of the Italian athletes studied and their greater degree of participation in sport.”

Full essay:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(05)67847-6/fulltext