[Sudden death in young athletes].

Sudden death before the age of 35 is often the consequence of a congenital heart disease. The principal congenital causes are hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congenital abnormalities of the coronary arteries. The authors propose a programme for detecting those sportsmen who are at risk, giving indications and contra-indications about taking part in competitions. Finally they suggest strategies to prevent the occurrence of sudden death in our young sportsmen.