Posted on 01/24/2007 9:50:57 PM PST by FairOpinion
Endurance sports may cause changes in the hearts of some athletes that can lead to a rare but life-threatening condition which causes an abnormal heart rate and rhythm, Belgium researchers said on Monday.
Ventricular arrhythmia (VA), a disturbance that occurs in the ventricles or lower chambers of the heart, is a condition that can cause sudden death in top athletes who have had no previous symptoms of the disorder.
After studying Dutch and Belgian endurance athletes with VA and other healthy sportspeople and volunteers, the researchers found that in the athletes with the problem the right ventricle (RV) of the heart was not functioning normally.
They believe VA, which could have many underlying causes, may be triggered by intense exercise or that endurance sports could promote the arrhythmia along with genetic or environmental factors.
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"Our study does not provide definitive proof for either of these explanations, but our data contribute to the accumulating, indirect evidence that endurance exercise may have detrimental effects on the RV in some athletes," said Professor Hein Heidbuchel of the University of Leuven in Belgium.
The scientists, who reported their findings in the European Heart Journal, used X-rays of the heart and measured the volume of blood flow in the right ventricle and the thickness of the walls in the chamber for the study.
The abnormality in the right ventricle they uncovered in the athletes was more subtle than in people whose VA is due to a genetic cause.
The researchers said other studies suggest that endurance exercise subjects the thin walls of the right ventricle to an increased workload that may lead to the structural changes in the chamber.
"Determining the underlying genetic profile of these athletes may provide further data and that work is under way," said Heidbuchel.
"We also do not know whether substance abuse may have contributed to the observed changes, although all study subjects denied such use and there was no other evidence for it in any of them," he added.
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Runners 'linked to heart danger'
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/health/s/233/233837_runners_linked_to_heart_danger.html
MARATHON runners and long-distance cyclists could be putting their lives at risk from a rare condition, says a new a study.
Some endurance athletes could develop ventricular arrhythmia, which causes the heart to beat at an abnormal rhythm.
No doubt true but on average a person who maintains great endurance will live longer and be more mobile as a senior. In most cases being a couch potato is more dangerous.
I think there is a balance, everything in moderation.
Moderate exercise is good, excessive exercise may not be.
Runners also end up with serious knee problems.
When the very first marathon runner (that greek messenger who ran 26 miles to bring news of the Battle of Marathon) dropped dead at the end of his run, that had to be a hint.
Whew! Well, back to the couch for me. Where's the remote?
Those contemplating a sedentary lifestyle, should first get a physical exam to determine if their body can withstand the inactivity.
bookmark
Let me see, couch potato, endurance sports. Couch potato, endurance sports. Hard choice. I'll have to sit this one out.
couch potato, wine, chocolate -- you can hardly beat that. ;)
(wine and chocolate have been shown to be good for the heart)
Haha.. yeah. Not bad at all.
Indeed.
My cousin Gary the Gynecologist had a saying: Everything in moderation, including moderation.
People must understand that 'fitness' is not the same as 'health'. Many of these super fit types have all types of 'fitness' injuries and stresses.
No, in a very real way it is "moderate" exercise is part of the problem. The human body was meant to handle the entire spectrum of potential intensities, from couch potato to life threatening. Endurance athletes tend to train in a single intensity, over and over again. Ad infinitum. That is what our genes were not meant to handle.
Great site for learning about this stuff:
http://www.arthurdevany.com
Endurance sports seem to exceed what the body was designed for. Exercise, good. Excessive exercise, bad. My theory, anyway.
bttt
I'm a distance runner and have a sinus arrhythmmia. No big deal.
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