EKGs Save Live of Athletes -- Dogs and Man Alike

Susan Butcher fed Purina Pro Plan with lots of extra fat on race days.

Over the last three years, there have been no dog deaths in Alaska's Iditarod dog race. Luck? Not at all -- science.

In order for a dog to race in the Iditarod today, they are required to get a pre-race electrocardiogram in order to exclude dogs with weak hearts.

Now will we see the same heart checks required before long-distance human races? Some are advocating for that, as a study in an American Heart Association journal reports that 1 in 44,000 NCAA athletes suffer sudden cardiac death each year, and one Swedish study found the risk to be 1 in 3,000 among Division l athletes.

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