Physical activity is nowadays an established therapeutic principle concerning primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases; therefore, in internal sports medicine various aspects go beyond basic cardiological knowledge and require special medical expertise (sports cardiology). Acute cardiac risk is increased during physical activity; therefore, physical activity should be individually phased under consideration of the whole clinical situation. Physical training results in a functional adaptation of the cardiovascular system. Moreover, a structural adaptation can also be observed in competitive athletes but a differentiation between athlete's heart and cardiomyopathy is sometimes challenging. Preparticipation screening verifiably reduces the incidence of sudden cardiac death in athletes. Respective recommendations for the required diagnostics have been published and statutory health insurances are increasingly more willing to bear the incurred costs. Statistically, doping is more frequent in performance-orientated leisure time sports than in competitive sports. Drugs which are relevant for doping have partially irreversible cardiac side effects.
Keywords: Athlete’s heart syndrome; Doping; Physical exercise; Preparticipation screening; Sports cardiology.