5 ms·

Myocardial Fibrosis in Athletes: Risk Marker or Physiological Adaptation?

12 points by PaulHoule 11mo ago

LorenPechtel 11mo ago
I don't know about this one in particular, but I hike. Endurance, but not at the level they are talking about. I had a cardiac stress echo last year and I've had an EKG since--both show changes that don't seem to concern the docs. Dr. Google comes back with this might be a risk...or this might be normal for an athlete.
- PaulHoule 11mo ago
  My grandfather started his career in the Polish mafia and eventually went straight to work as a laborer and then a bricklayer, he was told he had an "enlarged heart". I got a bunch of workups because I fainted when exercising on a hot day when I'd eaten a bit too much and was a little infatuated with the instructor (I was the only student.) I got the plain echo and a stress echo and was told I had athlete's heart which they are not so sure if it is good or bad. I also wore a Holter monitor for 30 days and literally at the last 5 minutes of the period I had two bad heart beats so now I have A-Fib on my chart and my doc says the athlete's heart can make it worse so since then I'm only supposed to do an hour a day of cardio. When all this was going on I had manifested an "evil twin" whose harebraned scheme had just blown up right at the time I had those two bad heartbeats and I can't believe the emotional distress I'd caused myself hadn't had anything to do it. I have one of those Kardia cards and haven't seen it happen again.
  - LorenPechtel 11mo ago
    They did mine because I have the lipoprotein A gene. (Effectively, high LDL no matter what I do.)
suprnurd 11mo ago
Several of the people I exercise with have ended up having serious cardiac issues that seem to be related to endurance exercise. I always try to be careful to take off enough rest days myself, but maybe that doesn't even matter and it comes from cumulative adaptation?
- rubatuga 11mo ago
  A bit of a meme, but why do endurance bikers look so old?
  - ASalazarMX 11mo ago
    I'd go with very low fat percentage. I had a friend who ran marathons regularly, and he looked older because he was superlean and wiry. Regular people can look older too just by losing weight rapidly: https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/ozempic-face-3572731/ https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/ozempic-face-3572731/
  - hackingonempty 11mo ago
    Long rides in the sunshine are rough on your skin especially if you aren't constantly applying sunscreen.

12 points by PaulHoule 11mo ago

I don't know about this one in particular, but I hike. Endurance, but not at the level they are talking about. I had a cardiac stress echo last year and I've had an EKG since--both show changes that don't seem to concern the docs. Dr. Google comes back with this might be a risk...or this might be normal for an athlete.

PaulHoule 11mo ago
My grandfather started his career in the Polish mafia and eventually went straight to work as a laborer and then a bricklayer, he was told he had an "enlarged heart". I got a bunch of workups because I fainted when exercising on a hot day when I'd eaten a bit too much and was a little infatuated with the instructor (I was the only student.) I got the plain echo and a stress echo and was told I had athlete's heart which they are not so sure if it is good or bad. I also wore a Holter monitor for 30 days and literally at the last 5 minutes of the period I had two bad heart beats so now I have A-Fib on my chart and my doc says the athlete's heart can make it worse so since then I'm only supposed to do an hour a day of cardio. When all this was going on I had manifested an "evil twin" whose harebraned scheme had just blown up right at the time I had those two bad heartbeats and I can't believe the emotional distress I'd caused myself hadn't had anything to do it. I have one of those Kardia cards and haven't seen it happen again.
- LorenPechtel 11mo ago
  They did mine because I have the lipoprotein A gene. (Effectively, high LDL no matter what I do.)

suprnurd 11mo ago

Several of the people I exercise with have ended up having serious cardiac issues that seem to be related to endurance exercise. I always try to be careful to take off enough rest days myself, but maybe that doesn't even matter and it comes from cumulative adaptation?

rubatuga 11mo ago
A bit of a meme, but why do endurance bikers look so old?
- ASalazarMX 11mo ago
  I'd go with very low fat percentage. I had a friend who ran marathons regularly, and he looked older because he was superlean and wiry. Regular people can look older too just by losing weight rapidly: https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/ozempic-face-3572731/ https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/ozempic-face-3572731/
- hackingonempty 11mo ago
  Long rides in the sunshine are rough on your skin especially if you aren't constantly applying sunscreen.