FABRICE MUAMBA, capped 33 times by England under-21s, is fighting for his life, in intensive care at the cardiac unit of the London Chest Hospital.

The Bolton player, who is 23, was eventually resuscitated there after vain attempts to revive him on the Tottenham pitch during Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final.

Muamba collapsed with nobody near him just before half-time, and medical help was on hand in seconds. He was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and a defibrillator was used, reportedly more than once. The match was abandoned after 41 minutes.

The anxious scenes, the frantic paramedics, helpless bystanders, and silenced crowd evoked memories of too many football-related sudden cardiac death (SCD) episodes. Mass-participation marathons, with a wider and more elevated age profile of participants, always have the potential for similar instances, but even schoolchildren are not immune. Recreational rugby, basketball, and football are among sports on both sides of the Atlantic which have had many young victims.

SCD is an umbrella term for many different causes of a silent killer verging on the obscene by the manner in which it strikes apparently fit and healthy young people, including professional sportsmen – the horror magnified and even more shocking when it is brought into the nation's homes, courtesy of TV.

The non-professionals – a family's loss of a son or daughter – rarely make the headlines, save when it is somebody such as Daniel Yorath, son of Welsh internationalist Terry, and brother of Gabby Logan. He was 15, and on Leeds United's books, but died kicking a ball around in his garden.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (a genetic disorder in which the heart muscle becomes thickened) is among the significant SCD issues. SCD's notable international players to fall victim on the field of play include Antonio Puerta, Miklos Feher, Marc-Vivien Foe, and Phil O'Donnell, the former Celtic and Scotland midfielder who died when he was captain of Motherwell.

While the sporting world hopes for Muamba's recovery, it would be foolish, even improper, to speculate on the causes. If Muamba does recover, however, as eye-witness comments testify, it will be thanks to the prompt action of the on-the-spot medical team.

Even that has not been enough in many cases, though the late Mervyn Davies, the former Wales and British Lions captain who had a brain haemorrhage on the rugby pitch, acknowledged that he would not have survived had his problems occurred on a remote golf course.

Tetanus and septicaemia were the cause of the earliest football fatalities, before 1900. The first British player recorded to have died as a result of a heart attack was Dave "Soldier" Williams of Leeds City in 1906. A noted heavy smoker, he was playing against Burnley, and contemporary reports say he tried to return to the field despite being in great pain.

Times change. Former Celtic player Evander Sno collapsed in a reserve match in which Ajax were playing Vitesse Arnhem. Only the immediate use of a pitch-side defibrillator saved his life.

The 35-year-old O'Donnell collapsed 12 minutes from the end of Motherwell's 5-3 league win over Dundee United in 2007. The father of four, playing alongside his nephew, was immediately treated by medics from both teams and taken by ambulance to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The postmortem revealed left ventricular failure.

Given the number of football players worldwide, epidemiologists would be unsurprised by the global number of deaths from heart conditions. It would be hard to argue they do not simply reflect society as a whole.

FIFA's chief medical officer, Professor Jiri Dvorak, quoted the statistic of 1000 cardiac deaths a year in sport due to various underlying conditions. Given the numbers in sport who use performance-enhancing drugs, it is impossible to say what impact they may have. And athletes from all disciplines, accustomed to pushing themselves routinely in training and competition, are not necessarily good at monitoring their own health. The New York-based Journal of Athletic Training has issued warnings on this, but the US, Italy and the UK appear the only nations to have done any serious screening for SCD issues.

Scotland was only the third country in the world, after Italy and the US, to try a cardiovascular screening pilot programme. It cost £200,0000 and lasted two years, but it is not freely available to all teenagers.

In Italy, casualty rates have fallen by 80%, but the UK charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) estimates eight under-35-year-olds die every week of SCD.

Economic pressures also play their part. Serginho, a Brazilian playing for Sao Caetano who died on October 2004, had had a heart condition diagnosed, but elected to continue playing. One of 10 brothers and sisters, he was aware that living standards would never be the same if he stopped.

The same applies to many African players whose life expectancy in an AIDS-ridden continent is far short of that in Europe.

It would be unsurprising if there were not a compulsion to carry on regardless of known heart problems, and equally unsurprising if pitch-side medical care was not of European standard.

CRY has launched a programme to screen 1500 athletes. These checks are routine for football players in the elite leagues but, away from the big money, young athletes are still at risk of sudden death.

Last year, the IOC recommended that all athletes competing at the London Olympics undergo cardiovascular screening.

Football is the world's wealthiest game. I'm not convinced that it is maintaining sufficient duty of care to the youngsters seduced by its charms.

Fernando Pascoal das Neves (Dec 1973) The central midfielder with Porto was 25 when he collapsed against Setubal - in the thirteenth minute of the thirteenth match of the season. Not bad luck - heart attack.

Renato Curi (Oct 1977) Died aged 24 playing for Perugia v Juventus. The stadium in the Italian's home town was named after him. Myocardial infarction.

Samuel Okwaraji (Aug 1989) He was playing for Nigeria against Angolo in a World Cup qualifier in Lagos. A qualified lawyer, aged 25, he was a victim of congestive heart failure. The autopsy showed he had an enlarged heart and high blood pressure.

Dave Longhurst (Sept 1990) The York City player was 25 when he collapsed just before half time in a match against Lincoln City. An inquest revealed a rare heart condition.

Davie Cooper (Mar 1995) The former Scotland winger was 39 when he collapsed while filming a coaching video at Broadwood. He died a day later. Brain haemorrhage.

Marcio Dos Santos (Oct 2002) The 28-year-old Brazilian striker scored for Deportivo Wanka in the Peruvian league, and was dead within hours. Heart attack.

Marc Vivien Foe (June 2003) The ex-West Ham and Manchester City midfielder was 28 when he died while playing for Cameroon in the Confederations Cup. Enlarged right ventricle. Miklos Fehér (Jan 2004) The Hungarian internationalist was playing for Benfica in the Portuguese league against Vitoria. Fifteen seconds after joking about a yellow card, he was unconscious on the turf. He died in hospital two hours later, aged 24. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Mohamed Abdelwahab (Aug 2006) The left back was 22, and a member of the Egyptian squad which won the 2006 African Cup. He collapsed while training with his club El Ahly, and dead on arrival in a Cairo hospital. Doctors said it was a cardiac condition.

Matt Gadsby (Sept 2006) The former Walsall and Mansfield Town player died three days after his 27th birthday. He collapsed while playing against Harrogate. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. An implantable defibrilator can control this. Antonio Puerta (Aug 2007) The Seville midfielder, 22, collapsed against Getafe, recovered, walked off the pitch, collapsed in the dressing room and was resuscitated, but died three days later. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. On the very day of his death, Leicester defender Clive Clarke collapsed during a match against Nottingham City. He survived.

Chaswe Nsofwa (Aug 2007) The 26-year-old Zambian international striker collapsed while training in 104º temperatures with his club, Hapoel Beersheva. Sudden heart failure Anton Reid (Aug 2007) A 16-year old apprentice awaiting GCSE results collapsed at Walsall's Aston University training ground. Idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy. Jamie Dolan (Aug 2008) Like Cooper he was a member of Motherwell's 1991 Scottish Cup-winning side. Due to play in a testimonial match a few days later, he collapsed aged 39, while jogging. Cardiac ischaemia.

Daniel Jarque (Aug 2009) He was captain of Espanyol and was in Florence for a match against Bologna. He fell silent during the middle of a phone conversation with his pregnant girlfriend. She contacted the team, raising the alarm, but the 28-year-old could not be revived. SCD.