Abstract
BACKGROUND: The health benefits of sports and exercise training are well known. However, an acute bout of exercise transiently increases the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). To minimize the cardiovascular risks of exercise, more insight into the prevention and causes of SCD is needed. METHODS: The observatory for the prevention of sudden death in sports, PREMUBID, was created with the aim of fostering research to assess the benefits and risks of exercise at different volumes and intensities and to get insight into the underlying mechanisms of potentially cardiac (mal) adaptations. RESULTS: The observatory gathers researchers from a wide range of disciplines working at institutions in Europe and North America. The guiding principles of PREMUBID are to broaden the understanding of SCD in sports, strengthening collaborative research across the globe, and to develop, implement and evaluate robust pre-participation screening and emergency care strategies to further reduce the number of fatal cardiac events in sport events. During the inaugural meeting of the observatory, members and affiliated researchers discussed possibilities to initiate collaborative research projects and to exchange staff and students to share information and practices to prevent SCD. The final goal is to translate the obtained knowledge to understandable messages for the general population and healthcare workers to ensure that the population at large benefits from it. CONCLUSIONS: The PREMUBID consortium aims to produce novel knowledge and insights in SCD prevention, in order to maximize the health benefits associated with acute and long-term exercise training.