Sudden death syndrome--an umbrella term for a range of heart
conditions that can lead to cardiac arrest--is notorious for
striking those who seem most fit. That is because the condition,
thought to be largely hereditary, is often triggered by
overexertion. Tragically for some, the first symptom can be
cardiac arrest. It's possible, though costly, to screen for SDS.
In fact, after soccer prodigy John Marshall died of a sudden
heart attack at age 16 in 1994, the day before he was set to
join Everton, testing became compulsory for professional
athletes in several countries. Good thing, especially for those
who don't have the means that professional athletes do, that a
doctor at Tel Aviv University may have just made testing for the
condition far simpler and more affordable. "There is such a
significant overlap between what's normal and abnormal on an ECG
[electrocardiogram] that we need additional screening
parameters," Dr. Sami Viskin, a cardiologist at the Sackler
Faculty of Medicine, said yesterday in a unive