Why Do Healthy, Young Athletes Suddenly Die?
Occasionally, some of the fittest people in the worldfrom Olympic athletes to football playersdie suddenly after a bout of strenuous exercise. Why only some people fall victim isn't clear, but a new genetic study offers a hint.One of the risk factors for athletic sudden death is having a single copy of the abnormal gene variant for sickle cell, a condition called sickle cell trait (SCT).