Heidbuchel said that while the condition is rare, athletes should watch out for the warning signs, such as a sudden shortness of breath during exercise, or brief blackouts, and seek out the proper testing, he said.
And he cautioned that this kind of heart damage is probably irreversible, and a positive diagnosis is essentially a career-ending proposition.
"It's uncommon, but if you find that there is right ventricular damage, the conclusion should be that your competitive career should stop," he said.
All of the sportsmen in the study who were shown to have malfunctioning right ventricles gave up competing, with some of them switching careers to become trainers.
Some of the athletes were internationally known cyclists who had competed in the Tour de France, according to Heidbuchel.
The study appears in the European Heart Journal.
