SportsCardiologyBC will be in Kelowna on September 12th and 13th to conduct research about the risk of cardiovascular disease in athletes.
Barb Morrison, Research and Project Coordinator, explained the purpose of the research is to identify if screening athletes is an effective way of detecting cardiovascular disease and preventing cardiac arrest and death during sports. Volunteer athletes over the age of 35 who exercise a minimum of three times a week in either recreational or competitive sports over the age of 35 are needed for the research, which will include filling out a questionnaire on family history and personal habits and a physical exam performed by a cardiologist.
Research into the effectiveness of cardiovascular screening is taking place across BC, as 1,000 athletes from all over the province will be tested. Morrison would like to see 100 athletes from Kelowna volunteer, and she noted a study like this has never been done before in Canada. The program is looking to find if there is a prevalence in the target demographic and if screening athletes will help save them from over exerting themselves during sports and passing away from cardiac arrest.
Screening has taken place in Italy since 1982, but has never been done in Canada before. Morrison said they hope to be done the athletic profiles by December, but the examination and screening process will be redone every year for five years to receive the most accurate results. Any athlete interested in helping with the study by registering to be tested can do so at sportscardiologybc.org. The deadline for registering is September 10th.
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