This post was authored by Christine Lawless, MD, FACC, co-chair of the Sports and Exercise Cardiology Council & Section.

This year leaders from the ACC’s Sports and Exercise Cardiology Council were invited to lead sessions at the International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS) in Glasgow from July 19 – 24. The conference is a collaboration among the International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee, International Federation of Sports Medicine and the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education. Also known as the “Knowledge Olympics,” the convention occurs ever four years in conjunction with the Olympic Games, and some may joke that is the more important Olympics as there is always much to learn from one another.

Although Glasgow was cold (about 60 degrees) the topics were hot and we had a jam-packed program. Our session, “Return-to-Play (RTP) in Athletes with Cardiac Conditions,” covered innovation in RTP for athletes with cardiac conditions in the U.S., which I led; cardiomyopathy RTP, led by Barry Maron, MD, FACC; RTP with aortopathy and valvular heart disease, led by Paul Thompson, MD, FACC; and sports electrophysiology: RTP with Long QT and implanted devices, led by Michael Ackerman, MD, FACC.

There were also several heavy hitters that presented including Paolo Angelini, MD, from Houston, TX, where he runs a center for coronary anomalies, and gave a talk on the subject. He has a novel method of limited MRI to assess for this condition in middle school children (athlete and nonathlete), and has enrolled over 2500 children in this project. Sanjay Sharma, MD, from the UK, who spoke at ACC.12, gave a presentation on ECGs in black athletes. After his talk he left for London where he is providing medical coverage for endurance events.  Antonio Pelliccia, MD, from Italy, who also spoke at ACC.12, gave a presentation on SCD in athletes and the Italian screening program. Soon after, he also left for London, where he will provide service as Chief Medical Officer for the Italian Olympic team.

We also had the opportunity to network with Stewart Hillis, MD, who was the Scottish football team doctor for many years and received the Order of the British Empire for his work creating the sports medicine curriculum at the university in Glasgow. He shared some wonderful insights with us about cardiovascular screening for young people in the UK and Scotland. Surprisingly, high school athletes are not mandated to undergo preparticipation screening in the UK, thus here in the U.S. we are doing more for our high school athletes by requiring at least a history and physical. He also informed us that Italy was one of the few – if not only- European countries performing mandatory screenings.

Overall it was a great experience and I enjoyed the culture and hospitality of our hosts (I discovered a great goats’ cheese parcels recipe for anyone interested)!  Although the international audience may have different guidelines and opinions on the topic of screening of athletes, we still have much to learn from one another.

View photos from the Knowledge Olympics on ACC’s Facebook page and stay tuned to the ACC in Touch blog for the latest cv news from the Olympic Games. Also be sure to check out my interview in an American Medical News article about the Olympic games.

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