The Australasian Registry of Electrocardiograms in National Athletes (ARENA) collects and centralises cardiac screening data from across sporting organisations in Australasia. It is led by researchers at the University of Sydney, in collaboration with other national and international experts, and hosted by the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) Registry Centre. The ARENA study was launched in 2023, initially in Australia, with New Zealand to follow.
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes is a rare but tragic event. Cardiac screening of elite athletes for conditions associated with SCD is now widely recommended by leading bodies. Screening generally includes a personal and family history and a physical examination, together with a resting 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG).
All elite sports in Australia and New Zealand conducting cardiac screening of athletes (including ECG) are eligible to participate. ARENA works closely with participating sporting organisations that can use this registry to improve the quality of their cardiac screening programs and provide better cardiac care for young athletes.
The ARENA project is funded by an Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant and has ethical approval from the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (Project No. 2023/551). ARENA is endorsed by the Australasian College of Sport & Exercise Physicians and Sports Medicine Australia.
The ARENA project aims to provide long-term international data to improve our understanding of:
Written consent is provided by sporting organisations. No written consent is required from individual athletes.
Data is collected from sporting organisations as follows:
Athletes can opt-out at any time if desired (see ‘Participant materials’ for more details).