Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) in sport is uncommon but devastating. Debate persists about the value, feasibility and ethics of pre-participation cardiac screening - often fuelled by myths that obscure a nuanced evidence base. In this talk, Professor Malhotra will synthesise contemporary data from elite and community sport, including our own national football screening programme, to distinguish robust facts from persistent fallacies. The session will clarify what screening can and cannot achieve, how modern ECG interpretation criteria have transformed yield and specificity, and the importance of the correct classification of SCD.
Professor Malhotra is a Consultant Cardiologist and expert in sports cardiology, supporting people with heart conditions ranging from those keen to start exercising to elite athletes. He is based at the Institute of Sport, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust Hospitals. His programme of research is funded by the Medical Research Council, UK.
He is the lead cardiologist for a number of elite sports teams, including Manchester City, Manchester United, Leeds United, Leicester City, and Burnley Football Clubs, as well as British Cycling and Basketball England. Aneil is also regularly involved in the care of athletes for Team GB, English Institute of Sport, INEOS Cycling, and numerous professional football, cricket, and rugby clubs. He is the Cardiac Risk in the Young Cardiologist for the North of England.
Professor Malhotra graduated from the University of Cambridge (Emmanuel College) and, after spending time at MIT and Harvard University, worked in Cambridge (UK) and Papworth before moving to Oxford for specialist training in cardiology. Along the way, he attained a Masters in Medical Leadership at the Royal College of Physicians (2013 – distinction). He then completed his PhD in Inherited Heart Diseases and Sports Cardiology at St George’s, University of London, where he was appointed NIHR Clinical Lecturer prior to his MRC Clinician Scientist Award in Manchester. His research interests include predictors of sudden cardiac death in athletes and the effects of ethnicity and gender on cardiac adaptation, with data derived from analysing the Football Association’s cardiac screening programme.
