Cardiologists researched causes of sudden cardiac death in athletes

Researchers have clarified the cause of sudden cardiac death in athletes
It has long been known that the risk of a so-called second death for competitive athletes is much higher than for non-athletes. Researchers in Italy have now found a medical explanation for sudden cardiac death in athletes.
Sudden cardiac death occurs more frequently in athletes
It has been known for some time that sudden cardiac death - also known as secondary death - occurs more frequently in athletes than in non-athletes. Even in children, sudden cardiac death is known in sports. Researchers in Italy have now gained new insights into the causes. The scientists of the South Tyrolean EURAC center in Bolzano, in collaboration with researchers from the Centro Cardiologico Monzino in Milan, have now apparently identified the cell mechanisms behind the sudden cardiac death of athletes. It was not known how it comes to congenital heart muscle disease, in which the heart muscle is gradually replaced by adipose tissue, told the EURAC in a press release. The study was recently published in the prestigious journal "European Heart Journal". So far, it was unclear how exactly it comes to the characteristic fat accumulation. The researchers were now able to show that precursor cells of the connective tissue (fibroblasts) are responsible.

Sudden cardiac death in athletes: riddles solved. Picture: pixelaway - fotolia

Heart muscle is replaced by fatty tissue
In hereditary disease, the heart muscle is gradually replaced by adipose tissue. Especially right ventricular muscle is, according to scientists, affected by obesity, which leads to increased heart failure and is one of the most common causes of sudden cardiac death under stress in young people and athletes. If the disease is well advanced, the patient can only be rescued by transplantation. "Now that we have identified the cells responsible for the accumulation of fat, we can better target a treatment for this serious disease," said Alessandra Rossini, who is responsible for the study at the EURAC.

A new drug is already being researched
At the Center for Biomedicine, pharmacological studies are already underway to find a drug that can slow or stop the degeneration of fibroblasts. "This research result is an important step towards targeted treatment," says EURAC President Roland Psenner. "Close collaboration between basic medical research and clinical practice leads to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease." As described in the press release, fibroblasts are not differentiated cells of connective tissue. These non-specialized cells, which occur in large numbers, can transform into bone, muscle or fat cells. The researchers have now been able to prove by in-vitro investigations as well as by the comparison of healthy and diseased heart muscle tissue that these cells are the origin of excessive fat accumulation in the heart in hereditary disease called arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. (Ad)