**5. Gender and age of the victims**

According to the US Registry, the age of inclusion in the analysis of SCD and cardiac arrest in athletes was limited to 39 years; 2153 deaths from all causes (89%) occurred in males and 253 deaths (11%) were in females (4). In mortality rate among the 842 athletes with autopsy-confirmed cardiovascular diagnoses, the incidence in males exceeded that in females by 6.5-fold, P < .001 ([6], 1172). An analysis of 61 cases of SCD that occurred during exercise in Spain in 1995–2001 revealed that the age of the athletes and those involved in sports reached 65 years (mean age 31.9 ± 14.2 years). In 59 cases vs. 2, the victims were male [15]. Among 60 squash players who died suddenly at the age of 22–66 years (46 ± 10.3), 59 individuals (98.3%) were also male [20]. However, women may dominate in some sports characterized by a relatively small number of SCDs or cardiac arrests, e.g., 90% in volleyball and 73% in softball [6]. The number of arrhythmias and SCD risk increases with age. However, this applies primarily to those who are not engaged in or who have retired from professional and competitive sports [6].
