Statistics

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Fast Facts: Young Athletes & Sudden cardiac Arrest SCA

  • In the United States, a young competitive athlete dies suddenly every three days.

  • Young athletes are more than twice as likely to experience SCD as young non-athletes.

  • Most victims are male (90%)

  • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the leading cardiovascular cause of SCD (36%) in young athletes.2 (HCM is a disease that causes thickening of the heart muscle.) 

  • More than half of HCM sudden death victims are black athletes (52%).

  • The average age when SCD occurs in young athletes is 17.5 years.

  • The risk of SCD increases with age.

  • More than two thirds of young athletes who die suddenly are basketball and football players (67%).

*All statistics are cited from Boston Scientific Corporation .