INTRODUCTION: Sudden cardiac death in athletes is a growing problem, despite the 
huge existing knowledge in medicine and sports.
EFFECTS OF VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: In response to vigorous physical 
activity, the body undergoes profound morphologic and functional changes. These 
changes are usually healthy, but sometimes may gravitate to some cardiac 
diseases. But still, most saudden cardiac deaths are due to previous unknown 
diseases.
CAUSES OF SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH: The most common cause of sudden cardiac death in 
athletes is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Other reasons are congenital coronary 
artery anomalies, nivocarditis, dilatative cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic 
cardiomyopathy of the right ventricle, sarcoidosis, mitral valve prolapse, 
aortic valve stenosis, atherosclerosis, long QT syndrome, and blunt impact to 
the chest.
CONCLUSION: Bearing in mind the above mentioned, more frequent physical 
examinations of athletes are recommended.