Importance: The major North American professional sports leagues were among the first to return to full-scale sport activity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Given the unknown incidence of adverse cardiac sequelae after COVID-19 infection in athletes, these leagues implemented a conservative return-to-play (RTP) cardiac testing program aligned with American College of Cardiology recommendations for all athletes testing positive for COVID-19.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of detectable inflammatory heart disease in professional athletes with prior COVID-19 infection, using current RTP screening recommendations.
Background Habitual high-intensity endurance exercise is associated with increased atrial fibrillation (AF) risk and impaired cardiac conduction. It is unknown whether these observations extend to prior strength-type sports exposure. The primary aim of this study was to compare AF prevalence in former National Football League (NFL) athletes to population-based controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCirc Cardiovasc Imaging
November 2017
Background: Ascending aortic dimensions are slightly larger in young competitive athletes compared with sedentary controls, but rarely >40 mm. Whether this finding translates to aortic enlargement in older, former athletes is unknown.
Methods And Results: This cross-sectional study involved a sample of 206 former National Football League (NFL) athletes compared with 759 male subjects from the DHS-2 (Dallas Heart Study-2; mean age of 57.
Purpose: Limited data from former National Football League (NFL) players suggest that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may be highly prevalent after retirement. It remains unclear whether the high prevalence of OSA in retired players is comparable to nonathletes. This retrospective analysis compared sleep apnea (SA) risk in retired NFL players to a community cohort (CARDIA Sleep study), and examined associations between SA risk and cardiovascular risk factors, including subclinical atherosclerosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConflict of interest is common in the practice of medicine, and likely more so in the practice of sports medicine at the highest levels of competition. Two areas where conflict of interest frequently manifest in sports medicine are confidentiality and clinical decision making. Confidentiality can be challenging by the team physician's dual responsibilities to the player-patient and the team.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious findings suggest that professional American football players have higher blood pressures (BP) and a higher prevalence of pre-hypertension and hypertension than the general population. We sought to determine whether race is associated with differences in BP and prevalence of pre-hypertension and hypertension among a large sample of professional football players. BP was measured at 2009 team mini-camps for 1484 black (n = 1007) and white (n = 477) players from 27 National Football League (NFL) teams.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: It is unknown which measure of adiposity (body mass index [BMI] or waist circumference [WC]) is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in retired National Football League (NFL) players and whether this relation is attenuated after adjusting for components of the metabolic syndrome (elevated triglycerides, fasting glucose, and low levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [HDL-C]) that frequently coexist with obesity.
Methods: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) was measured in 926 retired NFL players. BMI was calculated as weight (in kilograms)/height (in meters)(2) and WC was measured in inches.
Over the past 20 years, sports concussion has become one of the most researched topics in sports medicine. Significant resources have been allocated to the study of this issue, with a dramatic increase in information concerning most aspects of this common sports injury. In light of this considerable increase in research, this review is offered to provide clinicians involved in the care of athletes a summary of key features of the evaluation and management of sports concussion with attention to recent contributions to the literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: We assessed whether low-density lipoprotein particle concentration (LDL-P) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] can identify subclinical atherosclerosis better than traditional cholesterol parameters in retired National Football League (NFL) players.
Background: It is not known whether LDL-P and the biomarker hs-CRP can identify subclinical atherosclerosis better than low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) or non-high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) in retired NFL players, given high prevalence of metabolic syndrome in these players.
Methods: Carotid artery plaque screening was performed with traditional lipids, LDL-P, and hs-CRP in 996 retired players.
Study Objectives: Prior studies have suggested that the prevalence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) among players in the National Football League (NFL) is disproportionately high. SDB can increase cardiovascular disease risk and is correlated with hypertension. NFL players have a higher prevalence of hypertension, and we sought to determine the prevalence of SDB among players the NFL and the associations of SDB with anthropometric measures and cardiovascular risk factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: We characterized the size of active National Football League (NFL) players by multiple criteria and analyzed their relation to traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors with the objective of further clarifying the occurrence of cardiovascular risk factors in different player positions.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in professional athletic training facilities. The participants were 504 active veteran players from a convenience sample of 12 NFL teams, grouped as interior linemen (IL) or all others (AO).
Context: Concern exists about the cardiovascular health implications of large size among professional football players and those players who aspire to professional status.
Objectives: To assess cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in active National Football League (NFL) players and to compare these findings with data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.
Design, Setting, And Participants: A cross-sectional study of 504 active, veteran football players from a convenience sample of 12 NFL teams at professional athletic training facilities between April and July 2007.
Objective: The National Football League (NFL) neuropsychological testing program is reviewed, and neuropsychological test data are presented on various samples of NFL athletes who sustained concussion (mild traumatic brain injury, MTBI).
Methods: This study evaluated post-MTBI neuropsychological testing of NFL players from 1996 to 2001. All athletes completed a standardized battery of neuropsychological tests and underwent postinjury neuropsychological testing within a few days after concussion.
Objective: A 6-year study was conducted to determine the signs, symptoms, and management of repeat concussion in National Football League players.
Methods: From 1996 to 2001, concussions were reported by 30 National Football League teams using a standardized reporting form filled out by team physicians with input from athletic trainers. Signs and symptoms were grouped by general symptoms, somatic complaints, cranial nerve effects, cognition problems, memory problems, and unconsciousness.
The professional team physician may face ethical questions that are unique to the practice of sports medicine. There are numerous pressures that potentially may affect or interfere with ethical medical decision-making. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of these issues and to increase awareness of them for the practicing team physician and trainers and others involved in professional sports.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: A 6-year study was performed to determine the circumstances, causes, and outcomes of concussions in the National Football League.
Methods: Between 1996 and 2001, the epidemiological features of concussions were recorded by National Football League teams with a standardized reporting form. Symptoms were reported and grouped as general symptoms, cranial nerve symptoms, memory or cognitive problems, somatic complaints, and loss of consciousness.
Phys Sportsmed
December 2003
The use of over-the-counter dietary supplements has risen dramatically, and adverse events can be severe. Physicians should recognize the dangers that ephedrine-containing supplements present and remain vigilant for sympathomimetic symptoms in young, otherwise healthy, patients. This case illustrates how the use of a popular weight-loss supplement by a 27-year-old professional football player apparently resulted in cardiac arrhythmia requiring direct cardioversion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: National Football League game video was analyzed for the typical locations of severe helmet impacts in professional football. By use of selected cases that were reconstructed in laboratory tests and reported previously, the magnitude and direction of force causing concussion was determined for these locations.
Methods: Multiple video views were obtained for 182 severe helmet impacts that occurred between 1996 and 2001.
Objective: Concussion in professional football was studied with respect to impact types and injury biomechanics. A combination of video surveillance and laboratory reconstruction of game impacts was used to evaluate concussion biomechanics.
Methods: Between 1996 and 2001, videotapes of concussions and significant head impacts were collected from National Football League games.