Young athletes who take part in competitive sports should be screened for potentially fatal heart problems before they compete, a study published in the British Medical Journal said.

For the past 25 years, competitive athletes in Italy had to have two electrocardiograms -- a test to measure the electrical activity of the heart -- one at rest and one while exercising.

Dr. Francesco Sofi of the University of Florence and colleagues analyzed data from 30,065 athletes who underwent a complete pre-participation cardiovascular evaluation at the Institute of Sports Medicine in Florence during a five-year period.

During the resting ECGs, the researchers found that 1.2 percent of participants had distinctly abnormal test results. The results from the ECGs taken during exercise found that 4.9 percent of participants had some form of heart abnormality.

The age of people with problems found only during the exercise ECG, was also significantly higher -- 30.9 years old compared to 24.9 years old -- than those who had normal test results.

Of the 159 people disqualified from a sport for heart problems, six would have been identified through regular physical examination alone.