No Evidence for Femoral Pulse Evaluation in Normotensive College Athletes During Sports Preparticipation Examinations

In a recently published consensus statement, Hainline et  al.(1) present a college athlete –specific preparticipation protocol, which states that the “NCAA supports, in concept, preparticipation cardiovascular screening using a comprehensive personal and family history and physical examination, such as the American Heart Association (AHA) 14 point recommendations and/or the Prepartici pation Monograph, Fourth Edition (PPE-4).” Both of these recommended protocols include femoral pulse evaluation to exclude coarctation of the aorta during the preparticipation examination. It is important to note that the 2 largest and most widely referenced surveys of sudden death in the college athlete in the United States include no examples of deaths related to coarctation of the aorta (2,3). Much debate remains about what would be an optimal pre-participation examination for the college athlete that has evidence for improved outcomes (i.e.,  reduced morbidity and/or mortality). However, given the lack of documentation regarding coarctation of the aorta–associated sudden death in college-aged athletes, there seems to be no indication (unless blood pressure is elevated) to include femoral pulse evaluation.
Source: Journal of the American College of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research