If you consider yourself to be an athletic and sporty person in general and enjoy regular exercise and taking part in competitions and training exercises, you would be forgiven for thinking that your heart would be in good shape.
Any athlete partaking in regular sports and exercises will be putting their heart under strain and pushing themselves sometimes to the limits of their physical ability.
Sometimes due to tragic circumstances and mainly due to continued research, it has been established that even elite athletes who enjoy high fitness levels, may be at risk from heart abnormalities.
Olympic screening
Taking part in the Olympics would be the pinnacle of your athletic achievements and not something that the majority of us will experience, but tests carried out on Olympic athletes do provide valuable information that is relevant to athletes of all abilities.
The Institute of Sports Medicine and Science were involved in an exercise to screen over 2,300 elite athletes and carry out a heart health assessment. What they discovered was that a surprisingly large number of those tested displayed cardiovascular abnormalities and some even displayed potentially life-threatening conditions.
The results showed that about 7% of athletes tested between 2002-2014 had some form of structural or electrical heart abnormality such as atrial flutter, of which you can learn more at Toperamedical.
Endurance athletes at risk
Studies have shown that athletes taking part in endurance exercises such as marathon running or alpine cycling are potentially susceptible to developing heartbeat irregularities.
If you take part in marathon running or some other form of extreme sport, you should be aware that there is always a risk that a heartbeat irregularity could actually lead to sudden death in some athletes.
Evidence has come to light that doctors who are tasked with identifying these irregularities tend to focus their attention on the left ventricle of the heart or the right ventricle during rest periods of the athlete.
This can lead to vital signs of right ventricular dysfunction that are is only detectable during exercise rather than when resting, which can have fatal consequences.
Clinical implications
Recent evidence published in the European Heart Journal has shown that the methods of detection used on the right ventricle while an athlete is resting could have clinical implications as the important signs of ventricular dysfunction might not be spotted.
Routine assessments of athletes who have suspected arrhythmias are presently focused on looking at the heart while it is resting whereas studies have now found that issues with the way the right ventricle is working only become apparent during periods of exercise and not while you are resting.
Exercise echocardiography is presently used to assess heart function but it is not always possible to obtain clear pictures with this method but this can be resolved with magnetic resonance imaging.
The conclusion reached from the study is that assessment of the right ventricle needs to become an integral part of the risk assessment process in athletes who are demonstrating signs of potentially lethal rhythm disturbances.
Protecting young athletes
The message for athletes of all ages and abilities is clear, we have to be aware of potential problems and not make assumptions that being at a good level of fitness is an indication that your heart is in prime condition also.
Cardiac arrest is an issue that young athletes also need to be aware of, as about 6,000 children in the U.S experience an abrupt loss of heart function every year. Only 6% of the kids suffering a cardiac arrest survive the incident, although it should be clarified that this is a total figure that includes other traumas such as drowning and respiratory causes.
It is estimated that under 750 children out of this annual figure experience sudden death as a result of taking part in a sports activity, although that is little comfort to those involved and certainly no reason for any complacency.
About half of the sudden deaths are subsequently found to be due to an underlying heart condition and disorders that affect heart rhythm. Whilst sudden cardiac death can be caused by a number of different issues, the most common problem is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which can often be prevented if the condition is identified at an early stage.
Anyone who wants to take part in competitive sports should consider having a medical evaluation, and the type of screening required would probably be dependent on the type of sport you are taking part in and the level of exertion required.
Tony McMorrow works as an exercise therapist. He likes to share his insights on living health. His posts can be found mainly on fitness and health blogs.