It remains a difficult medical challenge to prevent the sudden cardiac death of athletes, typically defined as natural, unexpected death from

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

within one hour of the onset of collapse symptoms, excluding additional time on mechanical life support. (Wider definitions of sudden death are also in use, but not usually applied to the athletic situation.) Most causes relate to

congenital A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can ...

or acquired

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...

with no symptoms noted before the fatal event. The

prevalence In epidemiology, prevalence is the proportion of a particular population found to be affected by a medical condition (typically a disease or a risk factor such as smoking or seatbelt use) at a specific time. It is derived by comparing the number o ...

of any single, associated condition is low, probably less than 0.3% of the population in the athletes' age group, and the

sensitivity and specificity ''Sensitivity'' and ''specificity'' mathematically describe the accuracy of a test which reports the presence or absence of a condition. Individuals for which the condition is satisfied are considered "positive" and those for which it is not are ...

of common screening tests leave much to be desired. The single most important predictor is

fainting Syncope, commonly known as fainting, or passing out, is a loss of consciousness and muscle strength characterized by a fast onset, short duration, and spontaneous recovery. It is caused by a decrease in blood flow to the brain, typically from ...

or near-fainting during exercise, which should require detailed explanation and investigation. The victims include many well-known names, especially in professional soccer, and close relatives are often at risk for similar cardiac problems.

Causes

The sudden cardiac deaths of 12 young American athletes (under age 35) were analyzed in a 2003 medical review: While most causes of sudden cardiac death relate to

or acquired

, an exception is

commotio cordis Commotio cordis (Latin, "agitation of the heart") is an often lethal disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart (the precordial region) at a critical time during the cycle of a heart beat, pro ...

, in which the heart is structurally normal but a potentially fatal loss of

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

occurs because of the accident of timing of a blow to the chest. Its fatality rate is about 65% even with prompt

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

and

defibrillation Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''cou ...

, and more than 80% without. Age 35 serves as an approximate borderline for the likely cause of sudden cardiac death. Before age 35, congenital abnormalities of the heart and blood vessels predominate. These are usually asymptomatic prior to the fatal event, although not invariably so. Congenital cardiovascular deaths are reported to occur disproportionately in African-American athletes. After age 35, acquired

coronary artery disease Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial ischemia, or simply heart disease, involves the reduction of blood flow to the heart muscle due to build-up of atherosclerotic pla ...

predominates (80%), and this is true regardless of the athlete's former level of fitness. Various

performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

can increase cardiac risk, though evidence has been inconclusive about their involvement in sudden cardiac deaths.

Genetics

Cardiomyopathies

Cardiac magnetic resonance Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia

Cardiomyopathies are generally inherited as

autosomal dominant In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and t ...

s, although recessive forms have been described, and dilated cardiomyopathy can also be inherited in an

X-linked Sex linked describes the sex-specific patterns of inheritance and presentation when a gene mutation (allele) is present on a sex chromosome (allosome) rather than a non-sex chromosome (autosome). In humans, these are termed X-linked recessive, ...

pattern. Consequently, in addition to tragedy involving an athlete who succumbs, there are medical implications for close relatives. Among family members of

index case The index case or patient zero is the first documented patient in a disease epidemic within a population, or the first documented patient included in an epidemiological study. It can also refer to the first case of a condition or syndrome (not n ...

s, more than 300 causative

mutations In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mi ...

have been identified. However, not all mutations have the same potential for severe outcomes, and there is not yet a clear understanding of how these mutations (which affect the same

myosin Myosins () are a superfamily of motor proteins best known for their roles in muscle contraction and in a wide range of other motility processes in eukaryotes. They are ATP-dependent and responsible for actin-based motility. The first myosin ...

protein molecule) can lead to the dramatically different clinical characteristics and outcomes associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Since HCM, as an example, is typically an autosomal dominant trait, each child of an HCM parent has a 50% chance of inheriting the mutation. In individuals without a family history, the most common cause of the disease is a "de novo" mutation of the gene that produces the β-myosin heavy chain.

Channelopathies

Sudden cardiac death can usually be attributed to cardiovascular disease or commotio cordis, but about 20% of cases show no obvious cause and remain undiagnosed after autopsy. Interest in these "autopsy-negative" deaths has centered around the " ion channelopathies". These electrolyte channels are pores regulating the movement of sodium, potassium and calcium

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

s into cardiac cells, collectively responsible for creating and controlling the electrical signals that govern the heart's rhythm. Abnormalities in this system occur in relatively rare genetic diseases such as Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and

Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is an inherited genetic disorder that predisposes those affected to potentially life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms or arrhythmias. The arrhythmias seen in CPVT typically occur du ...

, all associated with sudden death. Consequently, autopsy-negative sudden cardiac deaths (no physical abnormalities identified) may comprise a larger part of the channelopathies than previously anticipated.

Heritable connective tissue diseases

Heritable connective tissue diseases are rare, each disorder estimated at one to ten per 100,000, of which Marfan syndrome is the most common. It is carried by the FBN1 gene on chromosome 15, which encodes the connective protein fibrillin-1, inherited as a dominant trait. This protein is essential for synthesis and maintenance of elastic fibers. Since these fibers are particularly abundant in the

aorta The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ...

, ligaments, and the ciliary zonules of the eye, these areas are among the worst affected. Everyone has a pair of FBN1 genes and, because transmission is dominant, those who have inherited one affected FBN1 gene from either parent will have Marfan syndrome. Although it is most frequently inherited as an autosomal dominant, there is no family history in 25% of cases. Recruiting practices aimed at attracting athletes who are unusually tall or who have an unusually wide arm span (characteristics of Marfan syndrome) can increase the prevalence of the syndrome within sports such as basketball and volleyball.

DNA testing

After a disease-causing mutation has been identified in an index case (which is not always accomplished conclusively), the main task is genetic identification of carriers within a pedigree, a sequential process known as "cascade testing". Family members with the same mutation may show different severities of disease, a phenomenon known as "variable

penetrance Penetrance in genetics is the proportion of individuals carrying a particular variant (or allele) of a gene (the genotype) that also express an associated trait (the phenotype). In medical genetics, the penetrance of a disease-causing mutation is t ...

". As a result, some may remain asymptomatic, with little lifelong evidence of disease. Nevertheless, their children remain at risk of inheriting the disorder and potentially being more severely affected.

Screening

Screening athletes for cardiac disease can be problematic because of low prevalence and inconclusive performance of various tests that have been used. Nevertheless, sudden death among seemingly healthy individuals attracts much public and legislator attention because of its visible and tragic nature. As an example, the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

appropriated US$1 million for a pilot study of statewide athlete screening in 2007. The study employed a combination of questionnaire, examination and electrocardiography for 2,506 student athletes, followed by

echocardiography An echocardiography, echocardiogram, cardiac echo or simply an echo, is an ultrasound of the heart. It is a type of medical imaging of the heart, using standard ultrasound or Doppler ultrasound. Echocardiography has become routinely used in t ...

for 2,051 of them, including any students with abnormal findings from the first three steps. The questionnaire alone flagged 35% of the students as potentially at risk, but there were many

false positive A false positive is an error in binary classification in which a test result incorrectly indicates the presence of a condition (such as a disease when the disease is not present), while a false negative is the opposite error, where the test resul ...

results, with actual disease being confirmed in less than 2%. Further, a substantial number of screen-positive students declined repeated recommendations for follow-up evaluation. (Individuals who are conclusively diagnosed with cardiac disease are usually told to avoid competitive sports.) It should be stressed that this was a single pilot program, but it was indicative of the problems associated with large-scale screening, and consistent with experience in other locations with low prevalence of sudden death in athletes.

Incidence

Sudden cardiac death occurs in approximately one per 200,000 young athletes per year, usually triggered during competition or practice. The victim is usually male and associated with

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

, or

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

, reflecting the large number of athletes participating in these sustained and strenuous sports. For a normally healthy age group, the risk appears to be particularly magnified in competitive basketball, with sudden cardiac death rates as high as one per 3,000 annually for male basketball players in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I. This is still far below the rate for the general population, estimated as one per 1,300–1,600 and dominated by the elderly. However, a population as large as the United States will experience the sudden cardiac death of a competitive athlete at the average rate of one every three days, often with significant local media coverage heightening public attention. In the United States approximately 8 to 10 deaths per year can be attributed to sudden cardiac death in

with overall rate of 1 per 43,000.

Notable cases

These athletes, with notable careers, experienced sudden cardiac death by age 40. *

Mohamed Abdelwahab Mohamed Abdelwahab ( ar, محمد عبد الوهاب, 1 October 1983 – 31 August 2006) was an Egyptian footballer. He played in the defensive left back position. He was an important part of the Egyptian squad that went on to win the 2006 Af ...

, 22 (2006), soccer *

Gaines Adams Gaines Adams (June 8, 1983 – January 17, 2010) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons. He played college football for Clemson University, and was recognized ...

, 26 (2010), Amer. football * Jaouad Akaddar, 28 (2012), soccer * Davide Astori, 31 (2018), soccer * Víctor Hugo Ávalos, 37 (2009), soccer *

Heath Benedict Heath Benedict (June 30, 1983 – March 23, 2008) was a Dutch American football player. An offensive tackle, Benedict was considered to be one of the top offensive linemen prospects for the 2008 NFL Draft. However, he died before the draft t ...

, 24 (2008), Amer. football * Hédi Berkhissa, 24 (1997), soccer * Pedro Berruezo, 27 (1973), soccer *

Viktor Blinov Viktor Nikolayevich Blinov (September 1, 1945 in Omsk, Soviet Union – July 9, 1968 in Moscow, Soviet Union) was an ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for HC Spartak Moscow. He was inducted into the Russian ...

, 22 (1968), ice hockey *

Gilbert Bulawan Gilbert Domingo Bulawan (August 25, 1986 – July 3, 2016) was a Filipino professional basketball player who played for the Meralco Bolts, Barako Bull Energy Cola and Blackwater Elite of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafte ...

, 29 (2016), basketball * J. V. Cain, 28 (1979), Amer. football * Sékou Camara, 27 (2013), soccer *

Alexei Cherepanov Alexei Andreyevich Cherepanov (russian: Алексей Андреевич Черепанов; 15 January 1989 – 13 October 2008) was a Russian professional ice hockey winger who played for Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) ...

, 19 (2008), ice hockey * Mitchell Cole, 27 (2012), soccer *

Jason Collier Jason Jeffrey Collier (September 8, 1977 – October 15, 2005) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school career Collier led Catholic Central High School of his hometown Sprin ...

, 28 (2005), basketball * Hugo Cunha, 28 (2005), soccer *

Renato Curi Renato Curi (20 September 1953 – 30 October 1977) was an Italian footballer who played as a midfielder. He is best known for his tenure as a Perugia mainstay in the 1970s until his death during a league game against Juventus. Biography Renat ...

, 24 (1977), soccer *

Alexander Dale Oen Alexander Dale Oen (; 21 May 198530 April 2012) was a Norwegian swimmer. He represented the clubs Vestkantsvømmerne (1995–2010) and Bærumsvømmerne (2011–2012). Dale Oen's gold at the 2008 European Championships made him the first Norwegi ...

, 26 (2012), swimming *

Frankie de la Cruz Eulogio "Frankie" De La Cruz Martínez (;) (March 12, 1984 – March 14, 2021) was a Dominican baseball pitcher who played four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as one season each in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the Chin ...

, 37 (2021), baseball * Shane del Rosario, 30 (2013), MMA * Ben Idrissa Dermé, 34 (2016), soccer * Lyle Downs, 24 (1921), Austral. football * Patrick Ekeng, 26 (2016), soccer * Bobsam Elejiko, 30 (2011), soccer *

Derrick Faison Derrick Faison (August 24, 1967 June 27, 2004) is a former professional American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams o ...

, 36 (2004), Amer. football * Sebastian Faisst, 20 (2009), handball *

Miklós Fehér Miklós "Miki" Fehér (; 20 July 1979 – 25 January 2004) was a Hungarian professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his nine-year career in Portugal, representing four clubs and amassing Primeira Liga totals of 80 ga ...

, 24 (2004), soccer *

Neil Fingleton Neil Fingleton (18 December 1980 – 25 February 2017) was an English actor and basketball player. Neil became the tallest living British-born man and the tallest man in the European Union at 7 ft 7.56 in (232.6 cm) and among the 25 t ...

, 36 (2017), basketball *

Marc-Vivien Foé Marc-Vivien Foé (1 May 1975 – 26 June 2003) was a Cameroonian professional footballer, who played as a defensive midfielder for both club and country. Having initially played for Canon Yaoundé, Foé went on to play professionally in Ligue 1 ...

, 28 (2003), soccer * Matt Gadsby, 27 (2006), soccer *

Hank Gathers Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr. (February 11, 1967 – March 4, 1990) was an American college basketball player for the Loyola Marymount Lions in the West Coast Conference (WCC). As a junior in 1989, he became the second player in NCAA Division I ...

, 23 (1990), basketball * Cristian Gómez, 27 (2015), soccer *

Michael Goolaerts Michael Goolaerts (; 24 July 1994 – 8 April 2018) was a Belgian cyclist who rode for . During the 2018 Paris–Roubaix, Goolaerts suffered cardiac arrest. He was airlifted to a hospital in Lille, where he died hours later. Biography Goolaerts ...

, 23 (2018), cycling *

Larry Gordon Larry Gordon (July 8, 1954 – June 25, 1983) was an American football linebacker who played seven seasons in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins. A member of the Dolphins' Silver Anniversary team, he was in the starting lineup ...

, 28 (1983), Amer. football *

Herb Gorman Herbert Allen Gorman (December 19, 1924 – April 5, 1953) was an American professional baseball player. He had only one Major League at bat in a single game played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1952; then, the following season, he died at age ...

, 28 (1953), baseball *

Rasmus Green Rasmus Green (9 April 1980 – 12 June 2006) was a Danish professional footballer who played for Brøndby, AB, Ølstykke FC and Næstved BK Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the isla ...

, 26 (2006), soccer *

Sergei Grinkov Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov (russian: Сергей Михайлович Гриньков; 4 February 1967 – 20 November 1995) was a Russian pair skater. Together with his wife Ekaterina Gordeeva, he was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and ...

, 28 (1995), figure skating *

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero i ...

, 38 (2005), wrestling * Frank Hayes, 35 (1923), horse racing *

Thomas Herrion Thomas Lovell Herrion (December 15, 1981 – August 20, 2005) was an American football offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. He also was a member of the Hamburg Sea Devils in NFL E ...

, 23 (2005), Amer. football * Cătălin Hîldan, 24 (2000), soccer *

Dixie Howell Millard Fleming "Dixie" Howell (November 24, 1912 – March 2, 1971) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played college football as a halfback at the University of Alabama from 1932 to 1934 and with the Washington Redski ...

, 40 (1960), baseball *

Chuck Hughes Charles Frederick Hughes (March 2, 1943 – October 24, 1971) was an American football player, a wide receiver in the National Football League from 1967 to 1971. , he is the only NFL player to die on the field during a game. Early years Born ...

, 28 (1971), Amer. football * Flo Hyman, 31 (1986), volleyball *

Endurance Idahor Endurance Idahor (4 August 1984 – 6 March 2010) was a Nigerian professional football player who played for Sudanese club Al-Merreikh. On 6 March 2010, Idahor collapsed during a league game and later died on his way to the hospital. Career In ...

, 25 (2010), soccer *

Robbie James Robert Mark "Robbie" James (23 March 1957 – 18 February 1998) was a Welsh international footballer who played for many teams including Swansea City, Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers. He represented his country on 47 occasions over a pe ...

, 40 (1998), soccer *

Daniel Jarque Daniel Jarque González (1 January 1983 – 8 August 2009) was a Spanish professional footballer who played as a central defender and spent his entire career with Espanyol. He was named team captain one month before his death from a heart attac ...

, 26 (2009), soccer *

Cristiano Júnior Cristiano Sebastião de Lima Júnior (5 June 1979 – 5 December 2004) was a Brazilian footballer who played as a forward for Dempo, before an on-field collision in the Federation Cup finals, with the goalkeeper of his opposing team led to ...

, 25 (2004), soccer * Joe Kennedy, 28 (2007), baseball *

Darryl Kile Darryl Andrew Kile (December 2, 1968 – June 22, 2002) was an American professional baseball starting pitcher. He pitched from 1991 to 2002 for three Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, primarily for the Houston Astros. Kile was known for his shar ...

, 33 (2002), baseball * John Kirkby, 23 (1953), soccer * Michael Klein, 33 (1993), soccer * György Kolonics, 36 (2008), canoeing * Wayne Larkin, 29 (1968), ice hockey * Rauli Levonen, 28 (1981), ice hockey *

Reggie Lewis Reginald C. Lewis (November 21, 1965 – July 27, 1993) was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1987 to 1993. Early life Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Lewis attended high schoo ...

, 27 (1993), basketball *

José Lima José Desiderio Rodriguez Lima (September 30, 1972 – May 23, 2010) was a Dominican right-handed pitcher who spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1994–1996, 2001–2002), Houston Astros (1997–2001), Kan ...

, 37 (2010), baseball *

David Longhurst David John Longhurst (15 January 1965 – 8 September 1990) was an English footballer. During his career, he played for Nottingham Forest, Halifax Town, Northampton Town, Peterborough United and York City. He died on the pitch during a match fo ...

, 25 (1990), soccer * Nikola Mantov, 23 (1973), soccer *

Pete Maravich Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and raised i ...

, 40 (1988), basketball * Alex Marques, 20 (2013), soccer *

Jesse Marunde Jesse Marunde (September 14, 1979 – July 25, 2007) was an American strongman athlete who placed second in the 2005 World's Strongest Man competition. He is the brother of mixed martial artist Bristol Marunde. Early life Originally from Glennal ...

, 27 (2007), weightlifting * Scott Mason, 28 (2005), cricket *

Naoki Matsuda was a Japanese professional footballer who played as a central defender for the Japan national team. Club career Matsuda was born in Kiryu on 14 March 1977. After graduating from high school, he joined Yokohama Marinos (later ''Yokohama F. M ...

, 34 (2011), soccer * Stan Mauldin, 27 (1948), Amer. football *

Cormac McAnallen Cormac McAnallen ( ga, Cormac Mac An Ailín; 11 February 1980 – 2 March 2004) was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Eglish St Patrick's club and the Tyrone county team. With Tyrone, McAnallen won the All-Ireland Senior Footbal ...

, 24 (2004), Gaelic football *

Conrad McRae Conrad Bastien McRae (January 11, 1971 – July 10, 2000) was an American professional basketball player who had a successful career in Europe, for teams in France, Italy, Greece and Turkey. He was also selected by the Washington Bullets, in the s ...

, 29 (2000), basketball *

Fab Melo Fabricio Paulino de Melo (; June 20, 1990 – February 11, 2017) was a Brazilian professional basketball player. He played one season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics before returning to his home country and play ...

, 26 (2017), basketball *

Nilton Pereira Mendes Nilton Pereira Mendes or simply Mendes (January 7, 1976 – September 18, 2006) was a Brazilian professional footballer. He was born in Governador Valadares. Death Mendes collapsed on the pitch during a training match for his club FC Shakht ...

, 30 (2006), soccer * Igor Misko, 23 (2010), ice hockey * Stéphane Morin, 29 (1998), ice hockey *

Piermario Morosini Piermario Morosini (5 July 1986 – 14 April 2012) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a midfielder. On 14 April 2012, during a match between Pescara and Livorno, Morosini suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on the pitch. Early lif ...

, 25 (2012), soccer *

Carl Morton Carl Wendle Morton (January 18, 1944 – April 12, 1983) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through for the Montreal Expos and the Atlanta Braves. Morton was named the ...

, 39 (1983), baseball * Damien Nash, 24 (2007), Amer. football * Frederiek Nolf, 21 (2009), cycling *

Chaswe Nsofwa Chaswe Nsofwa (22 October 1978 – 29 August 2007) was a Zambian international footballer who played as a striker. He died during a training match in Be'er Sheva, Israel. Career ; Hapoel Be'er Sheva During a trial in August 2007, Nsofwa score ...

, 28 (2007), soccer * Gábor Ocskay, 33 (2009), ice hockey * Phil O'Donnell, 35 (2007), soccer * Samuel Okwaraji, 25 (1989), soccer *

David Oniya David Faramola Oniya (5 June 1985 – 13 June 2015) was a Nigerian association football, footballer who played for Malaysia Premier League club T-Team F.C., T-Team as a defender (association football), defender. Club career In mid-2007, Oniya mov ...

, 30 (2015), soccer * Alen Pamić, 23 (2013), soccer * Pavão, 26 (1973), soccer *

Bruno Pezzey Bruno Edmund Pezzey (3 February 1955 – 31 December 1994) was an Austrian professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Regarded as one of Austria's greatest defenders of all time, Pezzey started his professional career at loc ...

, 39 (1994), soccer *

Pheidippides Pheidippides ( grc-gre, Φειδιππίδης, , ; "Son of Pheídippos") or Philippides (Φιλιππίδης) is the central figure in the story that inspired a modern sporting event, the marathon race. Pheidippides is said to have run from ...

, c. 40 (490 BC), marathon *

Antonio Puerta Antonio José Puerta Pérez (; 26 November 1984 – 28 August 2007) was a Spanish professional footballer who played solely for Sevilla. Mainly a left midfielder who could also operate as an attacking left-back, he died on 28 August 2007 affec ...

, 22 (2007), soccer * Petar Radaković, 29 (1966), soccer *

Mickey Renaud The Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy is an award in the Ontario Hockey League which is given to one team captain every year. The award was introduced on February 4, 2009, at the 2009 OHL All-Star Classic hosted at the WFCU Centre in Windsor. The a ...

, 19 (2008), ice hockey * Bernardo Ribeiro, 26 (2016), soccer * Darcy Robinson, 26 (2007), ice hockey * Brad Rone, 34 (2003), boxing *

Omar Sahnoun Omar Sahnoun ( ar, عمر سحنون; 18 August 1955 – 21 April 1980) was a French professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Football career Sahnoun was born in Guerrouma, Algeria the son of a harki, and his family settled in Beau ...

, 24 (1980), soccer * Serginho, 30 (2004), soccer *

Ryan Shay Ryan Shay (May 4, 1979 – November 3, 2007) was an American professional long-distance runner who won several USA championships titles. He was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and attended the University of Notre Dame. He was married to Alic ...

, 28 (2007), marathon * Dave Sparks, 26 (1954), Amer. football *

Cheick Tioté Cheick Ismaël Tioté (; 21 June 1986 – 5 June 2017) was an Ivorian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. After playing youth football for FC Bibo in his hometown of Yamoussoukro, he made his professional debut in 200 ...

, 30 (2017), soccer *

Robert Traylor Robert DeShaun "Tractor" Traylor (February 1, 1977 – May 11, 2011) was an American professional basketball player. He got his nickname because of his hulking frame. Traylor was the sixth pick in the 1998 NBA draft and played seven seasons in th ...

, 34 (2011), basketball *

Zeke Upshaw Zena Ray "Zeke" Upshaw (May 27, 1991 – March 26, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. He began his college basketball career with the Illinois State Redbirds. After playing sparingly for three seasons, he transferred to join the ...

, 26 (2018), basketball * Luciano Vendemini, 24 (1977), basketball *

Ginty Vrede Ginty Vrede (July 18, 1985 – January 28, 2008) was a Dutch kickboxer and 2008 WBC Muaythai Heavyweight World champion. Biography and career Vrede won the WBC Muaythai heavyweight World title by beating the previously unbeaten Shane del Rosa ...

, 22 (2008), kickboxing *

Frank Warfield Francis Xavier Warfield (April 26, 1897 – July 24, 1932) was an infielder and manager in the Negro leagues. Career Standing at just 5'7", Warfield was known primarily for his fielding and baserunning excellence, but he also had several good yea ...

, 35 (1932), baseball *

Chandler Williams Chandler Williams III (August 9, 1985 – January 5, 2013) was an American football wide receiver who last played as a member of the Tampa Bay Storm. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He play ...

, 27 (2013), Amer. football * David "Soldier" Wilson, 23 (1906), soccer * Sergejs Žoltoks, 31 (2004), ice hockey

References

{{Reflist, 30em Deaths in sport Heart diseases Lists of people by cause of death Sportspeople by cause of death