In an ad during the Super Bowl last week, Nationwide Insurance chillingly reminded us that accidents are the No. 1 killer of children. Aside from the odd setting for the commercial, one of the reasons that it shocked so many people in the United States is that we have a disconnect between what we think kills children and what really does.

That’s a problem. There is a limited amount of time and money in the world. If we waste our spending and human capital on things that don’t matter so much, then we ignore the opportunities to focus on the things that do. This issue isn’t confined to the United States.

Every year, a number of young athletes die a sudden death. In response, in 2005, the European Society of Cardiology recommended that all young athletes be cleared of problems with a 12-lead electrocardiogram. Some countries, like Italy and Israel, set up national screening programs to look for children at risk.

However, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology disagreed. After an exhaustive review of the evidence, they concluded that although sudden death from congenital heart disease is certainly unfortunate, there isn’t enough of a public health benefit from universal screening to warrant a program. The number of children who die from this each year is greater than zero, but quite small.