Cardiovascular screening in athletes has been a source of controversy within the sports medicine community. Annual screening inclusive of ECG is currently required by all major professional sports leagues in the USA and recommended by the IOC.1 In 2016, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) published a statement on cardiovascular screening, recognising knowledge gaps and advocating for medical providers caring for competitive athletes to consider important factors when determining an individualised cardiovascular screening strategy. These include the risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in the specific athlete population, the available resources and cardiology infrastructure for screening and secondary evaluations.2 The purpose of this investigation was to determine the cardiovascular screening practices of the US National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs). This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board from the Hospital of Special Surgery. Medical team members for the US NGBs and NPCs were identified through internet queries, affiliation with the AMSSM and professional contacts. From April through November 2015, an online survey was distributed to identified medical team members regarding the cardiovascular screening practices of their respective NGBs or NPCs. Medical team members for 49 of 72 US Olympic-level or Paralympic-level teams (68.1%) were identified and contacted; 42/49 (85.7%) completed the assessment (34/39 from NGBs and 8/10 from NPCs). Twenty-one teams (50.0%) reported that there was a periodic health evaluation (PHE) mandate that directed the cardiovascular screening components, frequency and/or provider. The following screening components were reported as being performed at least once in all or most athletes: 38 teams (90.5%) personal history, 36 (85.7%) family history, 34 (81.0%) physical exam, 14 (33.3%) ECG, 2 (4.8%) echocardiogram and 1 (2.4%) stress test
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