Serginho (left) and Junior, two recent cases of footballers collapsing on the pitch and dying

Lausanne: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recommended that all athletes under the age of 35 receive regular medical screening for heart trouble to counter cases of sudden death in the sports arena.

?It?s not only for top level athletes. These recommendations are mainly to detect potential undiagnosed cardiac abnormalities which may lead to a fatal issue,? the head of the IOC?s medical commission, Patrick Schamasch, said.

?Through very simple and well-targeted questions we should attract the attention of the physician and of the athlete to minor symptoms which may appear lenient,? he said.

The sports world has been shaken by sudden high-profile deaths during televised events in recent years, notably when Cameroon football player Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed on the pitch during a match against Colombia in Fifa?s Confederations Cup last year.

?We have seen far too many tragic incidents of sudden death in football due to heart problems and we hope these preventative measures will help put an end to this,? said Sepp Blatter, the president of world football?s governing body.

The problem still affects about two athletes in 100,000 among those aged between 12 and 35 years-old, according to research presented to medical experts, who met at IOC headquarters.

?We do not have evidence that there has been an increase in the number. Even only one athlete dying on the pitch is a concern for the IOC,? Schamasch said.

The recommendations include a series of questions about signs of ill-health ? including a feeling of a tight chest, dizziness after exercise or high cholestorol ? and on family medical history, which should be put to athletes every two years from their early teens, the IOC said.

Negative answers and the outcome of a short physical focusing on the heart should prompt doctors to refer the athlete to a cardiac specialist before they can be cleared for participation in competitive sport, the IOC said.

Schamasch said the screening could be applied easily in rich and poor countries.

Fifa backs move

Meanwhile, Fifa is backing the IOC in its efforts to prevent the sudden death of athletes due to heart failure during competition.

?Fifa fully endorses these recommendations,? Fifa president Sepp Blatter said in a statement issued by the body. ?We have seen far too many tragic incidents of sudden death in football due to heart problems and we hope these preventive measures will help put an end to this.?

There have been two recent cases of footballers collapsing on the pitch and dying, one in Brazil and another involving a Brazilian player in India.

The Sao Caetano defender Serginho died during a Brazilian championship match against Sao Paulo. Cristiano de Lima Junior, a Dempo SC striker, collapsed on the ground after a collision with Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Subrata Pal during their Federation Cup final on last Sunday.

The ?Lausanne Recommendations? begins by saying: ?Sudden death in sport has to be fully appreciated. The leading cause (more than 90 percent) of non-traumatic sudden death in athletes is related to pre-existing cardiac abnormality.?