Who should be performing the EKG tests?
Videos
May 11, 2017
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Dr. Sean Convery talks more about EKG screenings and reading the results for student athletes.
Who should be performing the EKG tests?
The question of who does the testing also is currently in debate. We really feel once again that the physical examination, the yearly physical examination, should be done by the athlete's own caregiver in their office that they normally go to with someone who's familiar with their family, familiar with their family history.
The screening can really be done in a number of different ways, either in that physician's office or by the school, at the school with someone reviewing the results, reviewing the EKGs, who has knowledge of the new screening protocols, which are called the Seattle Criteria, and now the New Seattle Criteria. We've already morphed into the second set of those criteria, which are different for athletes than they are for normal individuals, non-athletic individuals, as to what is normal and what is abnormal.
So that can be done at the school. That can be done more in a group setting because it doesn't involve questioning the athlete about things they might be doing, some other social behaviors that all an important part of that physical examination. So it can be a mix of those things.