The Sports Cardiology Team: Personalizing Athlete Care Through a Comprehensive, Multidisciplinary Approach
J C Van Hattum, Sjoerd M Verwijs, P. Jeff Senden, Jessica L. Spies, S. Matthijs Boekholdt, Maarten Groenink, Nicole M Panhuyzen-Goedkoop, Albert R. Willems, Ingmar Knobbe, Nicolaas A. Blom, Cornelis A.C.M. Wijne, Gustaaf Reurink, Saskia N. van der Crabben, Nick R. Bijsterveld, Evert Verhagen, Yigal M. Pinto, Arthur A.M. Wilde, H T Jørstad
Abstract
Objective: To systematically investigate and document the infrastructure, practices, recommendations, and clinical consequences of a structured, organized sports cardiology multidisciplinary team (MDT) for athletes and patients who wish to engage in sports and exercise. Patients and Methods: We established bimonthly sports cardiology MDT meetings, with a permanent panel of experts in sports cardiology, genetics, pediatric cardiology, cardiovascular imaging, electrophysiology, and sports and exercise medicine. Cases were referred nationally or internationally by cardiologists/sports physicians. We retrospectively analyzed all MDT cases (April 10, 2019 through May 13, 2020) and collected clinical follow-up data up to 1 year after the initial review. Results: =.02). At the 14±6-month follow-up, 112 (97%) athletes reported no cardiovascular events, 111 (97%) athletes reported no (new) cardiac symptoms, 113 (98%) athletes reported adherence to the MDT sports advice, and no diagnoses were revised. Conclusion: Our experiences with a comprehensive sports cardiology MDT demonstrate that this approach leads to higher percentages of definitive diagnoses and fewer cardiac pathology diagnoses, more tailored sports advice with excellent rates of adherence, and fewer total sports restrictions. Our findings highlight the added value of sports cardiology MDTs for patient and athlete care.