NEW YORK - National Basketball Association officials require cardiac screening for every player in the wake of a player's death and heart issues for other players last season, a US newspaper reported.

New rules were sent to NBA clubs this summer but the most extensive program in American team sports to prevent heart-related deaths was not made public, the New York Times newspaper reported.

The move comes after Atlanta center Jason Collier died last October at age 28 of an abnormally enlarged heart and Chicago traded center Eddy Curry to New York because he might have a strong chance of a possibly fatal heart condition.

Four NBA players needed heart surgery to correct abnormalities - Frenchman Ronny Turiaf of the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota's Fred Hoiberg, Cleveland's Robert Traylor and Serbian Zeljko Rebraca of the Los Angeles Clippers.

"They should be given substantial credit for this initiative," cardiologist Barry Maron told the Times. Maron was part of a four-person panel that helped develop the program for the NBA.

The new rules do not require a player be banned from playing based upon test results but tests will be administered annually and no player can take part in training camp before the tests are taken, the Times reported.

The NBA screening process includes a physical exam, blood tests and three heart tests - an electrocardiogram and echocardiograms at rest and while stressed.

Player medical histories are also being sought to check for possible pre-disposition to certain heart conditions.

Most players are expected to be tested October 2 or 3 before training camps begin, the newspaper reported.

Curry refused genetic testing and was traded by the Bulls as a result. Genetic testing is not part of the new NBA program.

NBA clubs previously dictated their own cardiac prevention programs but a standard program was sought to prevent situations like Curry's condition from recurring.

"Every team had a sensible program in place. There was nobody who we thought was deficient," NBA basketball operations president Joel Litvin told the Times.

"But we thought it made sense, after talking to our experts, to have one standard set of tests that we all used."