10/02/2011 12:00 AM December 10th Doha, Qatar: Aspetar Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital hosted a sports cardiology conference today to discuss the issue of sudden cardiac death among young Middle-Eastern athletes. The conference was part of a two-day research meeting, which attracted 12 international cardiologists and pathologists to Qatar from UK, France, Ireland and Belgium. Aspetar is collaborating with Shafallah Medical Genetics Center, St Georges Hospital London, Liverpool John Moores University, and Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris to explore recently discovered genes believed to be associated with cardiac remodelling among Middle-Eastern athletes. Professor Gerard Saillant, Chief Medical Officer at Aspetar, said “The sudden death of a young, athletic individual is a tragic and often highly publicized event. In recent years as more research has been done into sudden cardiac death, young athletes have called for the implementation of organised and proactive screening programmes. Aspetar is committed to improving the knowledge base, athlete awareness and the mitigation of sudden cardiac death, and we believe this conference is a significant step forward in achieving these goals.”. Some of the international doctors who participated in the conference included:. Sanjay Sharma, Professor of Clinical Cardiology at St George’s University Hospital in Tooting, London. Professor Sharma’s interests include cardiovascular adaptation in athletes, sudden cardiac death in the young and heart muscle diseases for which he has an international reputation.. Dr Sanjay Prasad, a Consultant Cardiologist at Royal Brompton Hospital and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College. His areas of expertise include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); Cardiomyopathy, heart failure and Ischemic Heart Disease. Dr. Mary Sheppard: a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, Consultant Histopathologist at the Royal Brompton Hospital and Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London. Dr Sheppard is an expert cardiac pathologist and has many papers, studies and books published. Prof. François Carré, a cardiologist and a cardiovascular physiologist. He is the Chief of the Physiology department of Pontchaillou Hospital, Rennes, and the chairman-elect of the French Group of Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and Sport's cardiology of the French Society of Cardiology (SFC). Prof. Carré is involved in Sport's Cardiology both in its clinical and research form. He participated in several written recommendations from SFC and the European Society of Cardiology concerning the cardiovascular preparticipation screening for competitive sports. To date Aspetar’s ‘Sports Cardiology Project’ has screened over 3000 athletes from which there have been 86 serious cardiac cases that have warranted further evaluation. This conference will add value to the future care of these athletes.