David Epstein – ‘The Sports Gene’ author (Part 2) – Hearts and blood

If you enjoyed Part 1 of David Epstein’s BJSM podcast listen to this one to hear about the genetic contribution to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the reason it is so hard to detect in all cases, and real life choices that some players made when offered genetic screening opportunities. We finish by discussing whether an Olympic cross-country ski champion with a hematocrit of 65 is a blood-doper or the carrier of an unusual single-gene mutation. I learned a great deal from David Epstein in both podcasts; David has put the bar very high for future podcast guests. Recorded at the Summit – Leaders in Performance – New York (June 17/18 2014); with permission from Leaders (James Worrall). David Epstein’s session at Leaders was sponsored by Aspetar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar. For more related content: Sports Cardiology module on BMJ Learning including Seattle Criteria: bit.ly/1lI8djo J Drezner, M Ackerman, J Anderson et al, Electrocardiographic interpretation in athletes: the ‘Seattle Criteria’ bit.ly/1ic8P6i Advances in Sports Cardiology November 12, Volume 46: bit.ly/1pitAMf J Drezner, Standardised criteria for ECG interpretation in athletes: a practical tool, bit.ly/1lYQc5f Bruce Hamilton, Ben Levine, Paul Thompson, Greg Whyte, Mathew Wilson, Debate: challenges in sports cardiology; US vs European approaches bit.ly/1lEudzX Unravelling the grey zone: cardiac MRI volume to wall mass ratio to differentiate hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the athlete's heart: http://bit.ly/1t1LlmQ Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Cardiac Screening: A trainee perspective: http://bit.ly/1oUOWSk Peripheral vascular structure and function in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/46/Suppl_1/i98.full Unraveling the grey zone: cardiac MRI volume to wall mass ratio to differentiate hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the athlete's heart: http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2013/06/13/bjsports-2013-092360.full Screening athletes for cardiovascular disease in Africa: a challenging experience: http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/9/579.full