Plotse dood bij sport

The sudden death of an athlete represents an abrupt end to vigeur and strength, which seem to be the very qualities of life. This saddening paradox prompted this research into the sudden death during sporting activities, which set itself the following aims: 1. estimating accurately the number of cases of sudden death in sports per year in the Netherlands 2. collecting as many data as possible about each victim's medical history, sporting habits and complaints if any, which might Lead to ways of predicting sudden death during sporting activities. Chapter II describes the methods used. The data were collected via several channels. Letters were sent to one third of all Dutch physicians that could be expected to have been confronted with sudden death in sports: general practitioners, sports physicians, cardiologists and pathologists~ The sports world was approached via an artiele in the associations' periodicals. The research was also covered by the press, by radio and television. In order to collect the data of the deceased, interviews were held with their family doctors and next-of-kin, with the help of structured questionnaires. In three cases only was this interview declined. The Directar-General of the Public Health was asked to campare the cases known to him with our data and to provide us with any number of cases nat reported to us