Sport: when is sudden cardiac death threatened?
All content is checked by medical journalists.There are of course the cases in which someone suffers sudden cardiac death in the middle of training. Because sport puts more strain on the heart than usual. However, it is not a reason to leave your running shoes in the closet - on the contrary. The better trained someone is, the lower their risk of sudden cardiac death under stress.
"Those who only train their cardiovascular system once or twice a week reduce the risk of a heart attack under stress by two thirds," said Prof. Ingo Froböse from the Cologne Sports University in the ARD morning magazine. Those who do more sport will further reduce this risk even further. Because a trained heart can naturally cope with stress peaks much better than an untrained one. In particular, those who do endurance sports with moderate stress are good for their organism: The heart muscle becomes larger and stronger, and infarcts have to beat less often.
Overall, the risk of cardiac death while exercising is rather low: As part of a study, researchers led by Sumeet Chugh from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles found that of 1,200 cases of sudden cardiac arrest, only five percent were during exercise such as jogging or Bicycling occurred. And they usually didn't come out of the blue: In the days before, warning signals such as pain or tightness in the chest, which could indicate coronary artery disease, usually appeared.
See a doctor before exercising
Even if heart failure is rare during exercise, it is still advisable to have a thorough check-up before the first training session after a long period of abstinence.A sports medical examination, which can be used to find out whether there is a disease of the coronary arteries or a dangerous cardiac arrhythmia, is ideal. An additional performance test determines how high the training load should or may be.
Visiting a doctor before exercising is particularly important for people who have not been involved in regular exercise in the previous five years, who smoke, are older than 35 years or are overweight. The same goes for people who suffer from a chronic illness. These include, for example, asthma, joint problems, diabetes and high blood pressure. People who have already had heart disease in their families should also get tested. You might be genetically predisposed to it.
But even young people who are always active in sports are not immune to sudden cardiac arrest. A dangerous cardiac arrhythmia often goes undetected for years, or it develops on the basis of an uncured myocarditis. With intense stress, the heart can suddenly lose its rhythm. A simple ECG examination is often enough to detect such diseases.
The sick also benefit from sport
However, even chronically ill people usually do not have to forego sport. On the contrary, sport can have a positive effect on many illnesses. The only thing that matters here is to take it slowly at first and gradually increase physical performance. In the case of acute infections, however, sport is taboo for some time: If you train anyway, you risk irreparable heart damage.
Even people with certain heart problems can perform at high levels in sports. "Technology makes it possible," says sports medicine specialist Froböse. For example, some top athletes live with a special pacemaker that delivers an electric shock when the heart muscle suddenly goes crazy. "For them, the defibrillator is a kind of seat belt," says the doctor. (cf)
Sources:
ARD morning magazine, 08/11/2015
Eloi Marijon: Sudden Cardiac Arrest During Sports Activity in Middle Age, Ciculation, February 13, 2015
