Both adults and young competitive athletes with hidden cardiac problems may experience acute mortality as a result of participating in sports. The risk-benefit ratio of physical activity varies between these two age groups, though. Competitive exercise is significantly linked to an increased risk of sudden mortality in adolescents and young adults. Sports don’t “per se” cause the increased mortality in this age group; rather, they serve as a catalyst for cardiac arrest in athletes with silent cardiovascular diseases, primarily cardiomyopathy, premature coronary artery disease, and congenital coronary anomalies, which predispose to life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias during exercise.
