Heart Health

[Nettled Shin]

"Health Check" on the BBC World service has been running a series on old athletes. In this week's program (about 16mins in), a cardiologist dicusses his work studying people in ultra-endurance triathlon. He says that at the end of a typical one (8-12hrs on the go), 1/3 to 1/2 of entrants have severe heart dysfunction in the right side, and sometimes it doesn't go away. He goes on to say that some arryhthmias are much more common in athletes and that the heart can be scarred from long periods of intense exercise. I couldn't help but think that some cyclists fit the bill quite well, especially you people doing 100miles before breakfast.

[wirral_cyclist]

"Health Check" on the BBC World service has been running a series on old athletes. In this week's program (about 16mins in), a cardiologist dicusses his work studying people in ultra-endurance triathlon. He says that at the end of a typical one (8-12hrs on the go), 1/3 to 1/2 of entrants have severe heart dysfunction in the right side, and sometimes it doesn't go away. He goes on to say that some arryhthmias are much more common in athletes and that the heart can be scarred from long periods of intense exercise. I couldn't help but think that some cyclists fit the bill quite well, especially you people doing 100miles before breakfast.

Can't be bad for them or they wouldn't be 'Old Athletes' they'd be dead and not available to be studied...

[Mick F]

I had a chest x-ray a year or two ago and the report came back clear. I had a bout of chest infections so they were looking primarily at my lungs.

They did a standard report and sent it to my GP. Apart from the fact that I was clear of infections and no shadows on my lungs, they remarked that my "heart was on the large side of normal" but otherwise healthy. The doc was unconcerned, and I went away happy.

However, I've looked it up since then, and found that I may have "athletic heart".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_Heart
Seems to make sense to me. If you use a muscle, it gets bigger.

[reohn2]

I know nothing about cardiology but it doesn't surprise me,ultra endurance events must be punishing on the body and not just the heart.

[ANTONISH]

I was listening to Tommy Godwin, track cyclist (1948 Olympian) on BBC 4 . He is 91 and still going strong. OTOH his namesake a geat endurance cyclist (75,000 miles in a year-set I think in 1939-still the record ) died in his sixties.
I was at the semaine federale a few years ago and one of the participants was in the 1948 French gymnastics team. He was 95 and still cycling 60km.
I suppose the question is what happened to those prospective endurance athletes who took up a life of beer, fags and most of their leisure time sedentary.
If one enjoys endurance events would one wish to attempt to prolong life (all the research is statistical ) by forgoing these activities.?

[reohn2]

I had a chest x-ray a year or two ago and the report came back clear. I had a bout of chest infections so they were looking primarily at my lungs.

They did a standard report and sent it to my GP. Apart from the fact that I was clear of infections and no shadows on my lungs, they remarked that my "heart was on the large side of normal" but otherwise healthy. The doc was unconcerned, and I went away happy.

However, I've looked it up since then, and found that I may have "athletic heart".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_Heart
Seems to make sense to me. If you use a muscle, it gets bigger.

I had tests for asthma and extensive heart tests recently.
The results were very positive,the lungs of a chap 10years younger and a heart that can pump for two people was a couple of remarks I latched onto.
I've been involved in physical work/exercise all my life but I'd never consider myself as an athlete.
Theres a world of difference between even an amataur athlete and a professional.

[Nettled Shin]

Can't be bad for them or they wouldn't be 'Old Athletes' they'd be dead and not available to be studied...

Yes, the cardiologist went on to say that 1% of all 70-80yr olds in the general population suffer atrial fibrillation with the attendant increased risk of stroke, but this figure becomes 5% in former athletes.

[Ayesha]

Given the choice..
"You can ride your bike round until you're 80, or sit here being spoon-fed until you're 90," which would you choose?

[Mick F]

........Theres a world of difference between even an amataur athlete and a professional.

Oh I agree of course.
I was illustrating the point that exercise alters physiology. Regular exercise alters it quite a bit, so any endurance athlete must have serious changes in his heart/lung department. It's bound to take it out of you.

The Athletic Heart description on Wiki seems to sum it up well for we amateurs and keen cyclists.

Athlete's Heart is common in athletes who routinely exercise more than an hour a day .........

Athlete’s Heart is a result of dynamic physical activity such as (more than 5 hours a week) aerobic training ..........

Athlete's Heart most often does not have any physical symptoms, although an indicator would be a consistently low resting heart rate. In most cases, athletes do not realize they even have the syndrome until they go for their annual physical examination. The reason behind the "mystery" as to why there often are no symptoms when one’s heart is physically enlarged is because Athlete’s Heart is an adaptation of the body to the stresses of physical conditioning and aerobic exercise.

If this is taken to extreme - endurance athletes - it stands to reason that that the heart will be compromised.

Stay like me - and many of us on here - and we'll live forever. Overdo it, or even underdo it by being a couch potato, and you won't.

[Claireysmurf]

I must admit that as a (4 stone overweight) asthmatic with raised blood pressure and an improving but by no means great cyclist, I do worry about my heart health when pushing up steep hills but as yet have had no real problems (thundering heart and slight nauseas aside). I guess I have unAthletic Heart Syndrome

[thirdcrank]

When I was unexpectedly diagnosed with angina, the specialist remarked in an offhand sort of way that my generally good level of fitness had almost certainly saved my life, in that if my heart had been in poor muscular condition, as well as the apparently realatively small amount of "distal" blockage, I should probably have had a heart attack. As it was, it seems that stimulated by regular exercise, my heart had already begun to open up other minor blood vessels to bypass the clogging.

[Ayesha]

A symptom of this condition is dizziness and/or fainting when suddenly rising from a seated to standing position after an hour or so seated rest.

I get this a lot. My RHR is about 45 -50. Suddenly accelerating the brain upwards against gravity causes a drain and the 45 -50 RHR can't supply blood quick enough.

[cycloret]

Keep on exercising that is my understanding. No matter how much exercise you did when you were young, don't stop or you'll probably put on weight and go to seed. Question is can you overdo the exercise as you get older? Is this what happened to Beryl Burton?

Recently program on TV showed that our brains are rather over cautious, telling us to ease off too early. Training helps to improved our physical capabilities but also helps convince our brains that we have the new ability. Strange then, with no training at all and despite an overcautious brain we might still be able to leap over a high wall if the bull in the field is charging towards us.

[thirdcrank]

I always used to have the rather naive idea that cyclists were to some extent protected by having gears. By this I mean that although somebody running might strain their heart, a cyclist would stall before that happened. What I had overlooked is that a lot of heart trouble comes from chunks of the fuzzy stuff coming loose and blocking a vital vessel.

[Mick F]

Yes, the Dreaded Cholesterol.

I was contacted by my sister, she'd been for a blood test and they discovered a huge cholesterol problem - familial. I went for a blood test "just to see". I came back with the fact that my cholesterol problem was hugely huge! 11.4 on the scale. Now me and Big Sis are on large doses of statins. We could eat lettuce and drink only water and we'd be still off the scale without the statins.

I get checked every couple of years - for various things as well as cholesterol. Statins aren't good for the muscles or internal organs, so they keep an eye on things. At present, I'm fine and my last result was 6.2 and I'm on the biggest dose of statins they can give me.

Meanwhile, I keep as fit as I can. I remain active and eat a good balanced diet. It's good that I'm good at cycling and enjoy it. If I wasn't a naturally active person, I could have problems. I was out for a 45mile hilly ride yesterday and according to my records, I'd consumed 2,800cals. This gives me a good excuse to eat well!