A Government task force today recommended against a mass screening programme for sudden cardiac death.
The condition is responsible for around 5,000 deaths a year, with around 60 of these people aged under 40.
But the task force on sudden cardiac death, which was established in wake of the death of Tyrone footballer Cormac McAnallen two years ago, said there was insufficient evidence to justify a programme of mass screening.
"We do believe however that the first degree relatives of those who died suddenly and who are under 40 years, are the priority group for risk assessment," said chairman Dr Brian Maurer.
The task force report found that screening tests were not sufficiently sensitive for widespread use and could lead to a large number of false positive reports.
"The long term-negative of labelling a young person as 'too high risk' to participate in sporting activity should not be underestimated."
It said that up to 3 per cent of young people could be excluded by each round of testing for sudden cardiac syndrome with implications for employment, life insurance and mortgage applications.
Tánaiste Mary Harney said although the publication of the report on the second anniversary of Cormac McAnallen's death was coincidental, she hoped it would reassure his family that the Government was serious about the problem.
"His death led to a huge emotional response. People were shocked because the assumption is that if you're young and fit and healthy, that you don't die from heart failure," she said.
"What we're talking about here is not being so conservative that we don't encourage people to participate in sport but that adequate precautions are taken and that people get risk assessment."
PA