Almost twice a week, a young athlete dies without warning from sudden cardiac arrest. Many times the cause is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This disease causes a thickening of the heart muscle, and is often detectable before symptoms appear.

Minnesota State High School League screens their athletes, starting by simply asking the right questions on a medical form for high school sports physicals.

Their MSHSL Sports Qualifying Physical History Form contains over 50 questions including:

• Have you ever passed out or nearly passed out during exercise?


• Have you ever had discomfort, pain, tightness or pressure in your chest during exercise?
• Has any family member or relative died of a heart problem or of sudden death before the age of 50?

These questions are also included in their Annual Sports Health Questionnaire.

You can find out more at their website: www.mshsl.org