LAST March, the N.C.A.A.’s chief medical officer, Brian Hainline, announced that he was going to recommend that all male college basketball players undergo an electrocardiogram, which measures the electrical activity in the heart, presumably as a requirement for being cleared to play competitively. He said his action was in response to research suggesting that the risk of sudden cardiac death in Division I basketball players was about one in 5,200 per year, much higher than previously thought.
However, Dr. Hainline backed off his proposal after an outcry by about 100 college team physicians who questioned the use of electrocardiograms, or EKGs, as a screening tool for these athletes.