Heart Pattern May Raise Athletes’ Risk

One type of abnormal heartbeat may raise the risk of severe heart disease later, a study suggests. The Italian study used data on 12,550 athletes. In Italy, athletes are screened for potential heart problems. Of the large group, 81 had an abnormal heart pattern called “diffusely distributed and deeply inverted T waves.” Five of them developed severe heart disease before age 50. One died suddenly at age 24. HealthDay News reported on the study January 9. It was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.