@article{ref1,
title="FIFA Sudden Death Registry (FIFA-SDR): a prospective, observational study of sudden  death in worldwide football from 2014 to 2018",
journal="British journal of sports medicine",
year="2020",
author="Egger, Florian and Scharhag, Jürgen and Kästner, Andreas and Dvorak, Jiri and Bohm, Philipp and Meyer, Tim",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To investigate the underlying causes and regional patterns of sudden  death in football (soccer) players worldwide to inform and improve existing  screening and prevention measures. <br><br>METHODS: From 2014 to 2018 cases of sudden  cardiac death (SCD), survived sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and traumatic sudden death  were recorded by media monitoring (Meltwater), a confidential web-based data  platform and data synchronisation with existing national Sudden Death Registries  (n=16). Inclusion criteria were met when sudden death occurred during  football-specific activity or up to 1 hour afterwards. Death during other activities  was excluded. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 617 players (mean age 34±16 years, 96% men) with  sudden death were reported from 67 countries; 142 players (23%) survived. A  diagnosis by autopsy or definite medical reports was established in 211 cases (34%). The leading cause in players >35 years was coronary artery disease (76%) and in  players ≤35 years was sudden unexplained death (SUD, 22%). In players ≤35 years the  leading cause of SCD varied by region: cardiomyopathy in South America (42%),  coronary artery anomaly in North America (33%) and SUD in Europe (26%). Traumatic  sudden death including commotio cordis occurred infrequently (6%). Cardiopulmonary  resuscitation (CPR) resulted in a survival rate of 85% with the use of an automated  external defibrillator (AED) compared with 35% without. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Regional  variation in SCD aetiology should be verified by expansion of national registries  and uniform autopsy protocols. Immediate access to an AED at training and  competition sites, as well as CPR training for players, coaches and staff members,  is needed to improve survival from SCA.   Keywords: Soccer<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0306-3674",
doi="10.1136/bjsports-2020-102368",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102368"
}