Highly active people who regularly hit the gym, lift weights, and appear fit and well-toned are usually assumed to be in perfect health. However, with this quintessential image of a fit and shredded body, some may silently develop a condition called ‘athlete’s heart,’ in which the heart undergoes structural changes due to prolonged and intensive physical training.
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The condition being discussed here is athlete’s heart, and in an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Ruchit Shah, an interventional cardiologist at Saifee Hospital in Mumbai, explained why it develops and the structural changes that can occur in the heart due to prolonged and intensive training.
What is athlete’s heart?
This condition is seen in competitive athletes; the cardiologist narrowed it down to the top 1-2 per cent in this category, primarily because of prolonged, intensive physical training.
“Just as skeletal muscles undergo hypertrophy, or an increase in size and thickness, through regular gym training and exercise, the heart muscle can also adapt to sustained physical exertion,” Dr Shah outlined the structural changes in the heart back to their root cause.
How does an athlete’s heart develop?
So what exactly causes an athlete’s heart? It mostly comes down to the intensity, duration and consistency of training. When a person engages in excessive exercise for more than 60 minutes a day on most days of the week for a long period, the cardiologist believes it increases the body’s demand for oxygen and blood supply significantly. Dr Shah observed that this is commonly seen in competitive athletes who follow rigorous training schedules.
So now, how does the heart react to this routine? The cardiologist described,“In response to this increased demand, the heart muscle undergoes conditioning and becomes thicker over time. As the heart muscle thickens, particularly the left ventricular muscle, the size of the left ventricular cavity slightly decreases. This can lead to mildly reduced filling of the left ventricle.”
Is it harmful?
With any underlying condition, the first concern is usually whether it comes with serious health risks or not. And yes, structural changes in the heart may initially sound worrisome. However, the expert clarified that an athlete’s heart is different, as it is considered more of a physiological adaptation than a dangerous condition.
“Athlete’s heart is generally considered a physiological adaptation rather than a harmful condition. It is not known to cause pathological changes or serious health complications in otherwise healthy individuals,” he said. So not all structural changes necessarily point towards heart disease.
How to know if someone has athlete’s heart?
There may be doubts about how one can recognise an athlete’s heart, especially since there are no usual or obvious signs.
According to the cardiologist, one of the most common indicators of this condition is a low resting heart rate, often called a ‘conditioned heart rate.’ But why does the heart beat at a lower resting rate? Explaining this, the cardiologist said, “This occurs because the heart becomes more efficient due to continuous training.” He further clarified that, in most cases, people with athlete’s heart do not experience symptoms or dangerous warning signs, and the condition is generally considered harmless in otherwise healthy people. Furthermore, the cardiologist also remarked that in many people who stop intense training, the heart slowly returns to normal size and function within three to six months. However, in around 20 per cent of cases, these changes may not completely go away.
But while an athlete’s heart is usually just a harmless structural adaptation to intense training, do pay close attention, as sometimes it can look similar to serious heart conditions, Dr Shah named hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), which carries a risk of sudden cardiac arrest. This is why athletes with heart changes on ECGs or scans require proper medical evaluation to rule out if there’s any dangerous underlying condition.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
