“Screening May Save Athletes” by Nicholas Bakalar is an article from the New York Times that stresses the importance of screening athletes with an electrocardiogram. While competing, athletes can drop dead due to sudden cardiac arrest. The victims of sudden cardiac arrest are the athletes who have heart conditions and are unaware it. When an athlete is unaware of having a heart condition, they can physically overwork them self which can lead to death. In 2006, a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association confirmed the value of EKG screening. Using data from the Italian Ministry of Health, which requires screening for competitive athletes, a study was found that said screening reduced the number of cardiac deaths by 89 percents of athletes from 14 to 35 years old. Needless to say, screening athletes is effective in preventing death, making the cost the only negative aspect of it. Since some find the EKG testing too expensive for the number of deaths it would prevent, the authors of a new study used the estimates from the Italian Ministry of History results and created a computer simulation of how American athletes between the ages of 14 to 22 would be affected by screening. The authors discovered that screening with only a medical history physical examinations saves only 0.56 life-years per 1,000 athletes, costing around $111 per person. Adding an EKG to the screening would save 2.06 more life-years per 1,000 athletes costing only an additional $89. Some experts find the work impressive like Dr. Robert J. Myerberg who is a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Miami. Whereas some experts are dubious about establishing extensive amounts of screening such as Dr. Bernard R. Chaitman, a professor of medicine at St. Louis University. Others have also noted that some might find it discriminatory to screen only athletes and not all children.
This article effects humanity by preventing death. The use of an EKG for screening can save the lives of all athletes who have heart conditions that they are unaware of. Deaths can easily be prevented by taking an EKG. Heart conditions are genetic, but that does not mean that only athletes who are inclined of having a condition should get tested. All athletes should get tested regardless of genetics since it saves lives and it is the only way one will know if they have a condition that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest.
I enjoyed reading this article because I think EKGs are very important and that all competitive should get tested. It was very informative for people who do not understand the consequences of having heart conditions that they are unaware of having. Since some athletes have died from sudden cardiac arrest, I do not understand why some athletes choose not to use EKGs.
Review by M. Imperiale
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For starters I never knew that just by get a screening it could save an athlete’s life. The review was very well written. I liked how Melissa included the two studies which showed how important the scanning really is. She also presented both sides of the argument like how the scan doesn’t even save one full life. I also liked how she presented the article in a clear way that was easy to understand.
ReplyDeleteThere are very few things that would make this review better. For example, she could have mention whether American athletes were tested. In addition, she could have mention how many kids were included in the study. Do different types of sports increase cardiac arrest and should some sports have more testing than others?
There were many things that impressed me in this article. For example I never knew how important a EKG scan was until I read this article. I was also unaware of how many athletes die from cardiac arrest each year. This review was well written and I enjoyed reading it.
Reading this review I discovered something new about saving athlete's lives. After, I felt no need to read the actual article. It was a very well written review because she presented it in a clear and concise way.
ReplyDeleteTo make this review better, she could mention more examples in how it would be used. Which ways make athletes more at risk for heart-related illnesses?
I didn't realize how much these procedures could save lives. The cost of it isn't even that high. If more people knew about this, more people could be saved every day.
Melissa's review of the "Screening May Save Athletes" article by Nicholas Bakalar was very well written and informative. In my opinion, her summary of the issue at hand, the risk of cardiac problems that athletes face, was detailed and surprising. Melissa also did an very good job explaining the various studies associated with this issue. She summarized the facts and findings in an organized, understandable way. I also was impressed regarding the topic and article she chose. The issue of athletes facing cardiac arrest whilst competing is both troubling and interesting. The information she put forward describing the pros and cons of screening were also interesting, the fact that screening could prevent such fatalities is important.
ReplyDeleteI only have two suggestions regarding her summary. One is that an actual case of an athlete fatality due to cardiac arrest could be put forward as an example relating to the issue. That is, if the article itself provides such a story. Also, at points some of the information was slightly confusing. This was especially during her describing the cost and efficiency of the screenings. Other then these two minor suggestions, I think her summary was very well written.
I was greatly impressed by this article. I had no idea about the issue of cardiac arrest in competitive athletes. I also was unaware that regular screenings could help solve this problem to an extent. Overall, the complexity of the issue greatly interested me. Melissa's review and summary of the article were very informative and well written. This made it easy to interpret and understand the problem of athlete's cardiac issues and screenings.
The review “Screening May Save Athletes” was well written and brought an important point to us all. The article states well on why EKG scans can save many athletes lives by taking a screening of their heart. The review showed well that many athletes overwork and kill themselves by not knowing if they had any heart conditions that they did not know of. Also, it gave good points on how effective the scan if, like the data from the Italian Ministry of Health, showing it has saved 89% of the athletes who took the screening. Also, it shows that athletes can extend the life-years they have by about 1.50 more.
ReplyDeleteThe review could have explained on how the EKG worked on the person. Is it similar to the x-rays that all people have, or is it something different and more demanding of the person? Also, since some athletes refuse EKG scans, are there any side effects to the scan, as well as if there is any medication a person has to take before or after the scanning.
This article made me aware of how important it is to check your body for any problems before going through events that use a lot of the energy in a person. I did not know that cardiac arrest was a problem in athletes or even knew that an EKG scan existed. Also, I learned that people should be more aware on life and death and try to live lives that are healthy and help one stay in the best condition as possible.
I think that the review done by Melissa for “Screening May Save Athletes” was very interesting. I thought that it was a very good choice for an article, because it captures the interest of many people in our class and gives information that not many people knew about. I had no idea that EKG screenings were important was stated in this article, and how crucial they could be to someone with a heart condition who is also an athlete.
ReplyDeleteSomething that could be improved about this review is the information about the actual EKG and how it works. It would be easier to understand if I knew how the actually screening took place. A second thing that could be improved about this review is the language used. I think that it could have been more formal and a little bit more descriptive than it was.
One thing that I learned from this article was the EKG screening. I had no idea that it existed, and that athletes should be screened for it between the ages of 14 and 22. It is a scary thought to think that someone like myself who is an athlete could potentially be competing in sports with a heart condition.