Comment on the guidelines (2020) of the ESC on sports cardiology and exercise in patients with cardiovascular disease

For the first time guidelines on sports cardiology have been published by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The background is the need for recommendations regarding physical activity, exercise, training as well as options for amateur and elite sports in patients with heart diseases. These include recommendations for patients with cardiovascular risk factors, chronic coronary syndrome, chronic heart failure, valvular heart disease, aortic pathology, cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, pericarditis, arrhythmias and channelopathies or adult congenital heart disease. The basis for the judgement on eligibility for sports and competitions as well as individual recommendations for exercise intensity and training is the combined cardiological as well as sports medical examinations and diagnostics. Individual recommendations are given on these results together with the individual situation of the athlete (shared decision making). These recommendations are often not easy and straightforward as scientific data and research in this area are still scarce and often determined by the individual expertise of the sports cardiologist. Therefore, a specific educational program is necessary, which has recently been officially accredited by the German Society of Cardiology.     «

For the first time guidelines on sports cardiology have been published by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The background is the need for recommendations regarding physical activity, exercise, training as well as options for amateur and elite sports in patients with heart diseases. These include recommendations for patients with cardiovascular risk factors, chronic coronary syndrome, chronic heart failure, valvular heart disease, aortic pathology, cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, pericardit...     »