Renowned cardiologist Professor Antonio Pellicia, who been working with the Medical Commission of the International Olympic Committee, said: "The screening is a job for the team physicians.

"That's the principle we adopt within the IOC Commission.

"So we are trying to transfer (the screening) to the national federations."

Pellicia, a member of CONI, Italian Olympic Committee, praised FISA for introducing the health screening measures which came into effect this year at the World Rowing Junior Championships and will apply to athletes at the World Rowing Junior, Under-23 and Senior Championships in 2015.

"We know that the process is quite slow," Pellicia said.

"It requires organisation, cost and expertise and also a cultural change.

"You need the people to be sensitive to the issue.

"So it's mostly a cultural change and I must say I'm very pleased that FISA took this step because it's a clear sign that FISA is maintaining and helping the health of their athletes."

Competitors at the FISA World Rowing Championships,seen here in action at the current competition going on in Amsterdam, will require ECG screening as from next year
©Getty Images

Pellicia's work with the IOC has involved producing information on the importance of sporting codes to address cardiovascular issues in athletes.

"My purpose is to identify the best strategy for screening athletes with cardiovascular disease to prevent or reduce the incidence of cardiac death," he said, adding that his own country has had the medical issues of athletes as an agenda for a number of years.

"We have state laws that oblige medical physicians to take care of the athletes.

"They are responsible for the medical clearance of athletes.

"So we are backed by the law and that gives us a big responsibility."

FISA's recent requirement of pre-competition electrocardiogram or ECG screening is designed to help identify critical heart problems among rowers and reduce the chance of "Sudden Cardiovascular Death" in Sport (SCD).

The aim of the physical and ECG screening is to bring a potential heart condition to light before the athlete suffers from a serious health issue as an individual may not be aware that they have a cardiac problem.

The system is based on the IOC's Pre-Competition Health Screening which follows on from the finding that the leading cause - more than 90 per cent - of non-traumatic sudden death in athletes is related to pre-existing heart problems.

The statistics relating to this subject are stark.

More young athletes between 14 and 24 die of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) than from any other cause.

Rowing, along with endurance sports such as cycling, canoeing, long distance running and cross country skiing, has more of an impact on the cardiovascular system of athletes compared to other sports says Pellicia.

He stressed that medical care of the cardio vascular system is a way to prevent cardio vascular damage to the heart.

Pellicia acknowledged: "We realise that no screening will ever be able to catch all disease."

But he insisted the introduction of screening in rowing was a positive step.

"In a practical way the electrocardiogram is relatively easy to implement," he said.

Greg Searle, a gold medallist for Britain at the 1992 Olympics who returned to rowing to win a bronze in the eight at the London 2012 Games has suffered from atrial fibrilation ©Getty Images

The latest plans have been made in the wake of several high-profile instances where top class rowers have been affected by heart problems.

Greg Searle, who won gold in the coxed pair for Britain at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics and returned at the age of 40 to take bronze in the eight at the London 2012 Games, discovered last year that he had a heart condition when he went to complete a triathlon in Italy, where screening is compulsory.

The results showed that he had atrial fibrillation - a condition that also affected British Olympic champion Tom James while he was training for London 2012. James, who announced his international retirement last year, managed the condition sufficiently well to win a second Olympic gold in the four, defending his Beijing 2008 title.

In 2009, Searle's 25-year-old Molesey clubmate Scott Rennie, who was on the fringe of selection for Britain ahead of the London 2012 Games, collapsed and died while training on a rowing machine at the club. It was found he died of a previously undiagnosed heart condition.

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