Erik Vanegas Müller and Professor Mauricio Villarroel from the Podium Institute for Sports Medicine & Technology, together with colleagues from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham, have published a systematic review in npj Digital Medicine this month, entitled: A Systematic Review of Explainable Artificial Intelligence and Cardiac Electrophysiological Models Addressing Sports-Related Sudden Cardiac Death and Arrest in Adolescents and Young Adults.
This systematic review examines how explainable artificial intelligence (xAI) and cardiovascular modelling can detect and prevent life-threatening heart problems in young athletes. Although these events are rare, SrSCD remains the leading medical cause of death among adolescent and young adult athletes. It often occurs without warning in individuals who otherwise appear healthy.
Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) is a fatal event occurring within one hour of a witnessed or 24 hours of an unwitnessed cardiac arrest.
Sports-related sudden cardiac death (SrSCD) is an unexpected, non-traumatic death presumably of cardiac origin during or within one hour following exercise.
Drawing on 84 studies, the researchers examined how frequently these fatal events occur, how well xAI can identify life-threatening arrhythmias, and how cardiac electrophysiological modelling (computer simulations of the heart’s electrical or mechanical activity) may help explain their mechanisms. The SrSCD risk among adolescent and young adult athletes is up to 2 times higher, and the SrSCA risk up to 4 times higher, than in the general population.
