Sudden deaths in athletes (SDA) are rare but devastating events, with huge social impact and vast echo in the media. Elite athletes are contemporary icons epitomizing health and success, promoting positive lifestyles and penetrating the daily lives of fans and their families. Although SDA is a rare event, recent data suggests that it is probably more common than previously thought. Incidence estimation is limited by difficulties in identifying the cases (numerator), a condition shared with all other rare diseases, and in estimating the true number of athlete population (denominator).
