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Too much sport can damage the heart

A study by a team at the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute of Barcelona’s Hospital Clínic has demonstrated for the first time that a long-term excess of physical exercise can cause fibrosis and cardiac arrhythmias. The study was conducted on animals, and the results suggest the need for cardiac supervision for endurance athletes

STAFF | JANUARY 18TH, 2011

A physically active lifestyle is associated with a decrease in mortality from heart disease by at least 30%; therefore, increased physical activity leads to a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. However, endurance exercise continued for years could cause alterations in cardiac structure and function and lead to an increased risk of arrhythmias.

This has been demonstrated for the first time by a multidisciplinary team at the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) of Barcelona’s Hospital Clínic in a study published in the journal Circulation.

The cardiac fibrosis found could be similar to some cases of sudden death in athletesThe five-year study used animals to determine the chronic effects of long-term exercise. The Hospital Clínic team put a group of rats through one hour of intense daily exercise for four, eight and 16 weeks_ which corresponds to the human equivalent of daily exercise for 10 years_ and compared the findings with another group of sedentary rats forming the control group.

The researchers observed anomalies in the structure of the heart muscle (fibrosis) in rats subjected to intense exercise, particularly in the atria and right ventricle. This suggests a direct relationship between endurance exercises performed continuously for years with the increased odds of suffering a heart arrhythmia. This correlates with clinical observations of an increased likelihood of long-term atrial fibrillation in endurance athletes.

Furthermore, the cardiac fibrosis located in the ventricle could be similar to that seen in some cases of sudden death in athletes. Also, the study shows that stopping exercise at two, four and eight weeks results in a remission of the heart anomalies, which means that the heart restores its normal functions.

The results suggest the need for cardiac supervision in endurance athletes (marathon runners, cycling and triathlon) to detect any abnormalities.

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VICENT BOU SERRALTA 21/01/2011
Ahora viene la duda: Según los investigadores 16 semanas de una rata equivalen a 10 años de un humano. Con una sencilla regla de tres deducimos que una hora de ejercicio físico intenso de rata equivale a más de 32 horas y media en un humano. Nadie hace tanto ejercicio en un día!

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