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Wed 05 May 2004All athletes should have a full medical, says expertAll athletes should have a full physical examination carried out by their GP to help prevent sudden death during exercise, according to a world expert on heart disease in sport.Dr Paul Thompson, director of the Athletes Heart Programme at Hartford Hospital at the University of Connecticut also called for the mandatory training of sports coaches in the causes of sudden cardiac death and in the basic techniques of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).