endurance athletes, GP, resting heart rate, muscle enzymes
Endurance athletes: Why endurance athletes should approach their GP with caution
Share your pain: ask your sports injury questions and answer them.
Your local GP probably isn't used to dealing with fit athletes. So what? you ask. Well, Dr Mike Erith ('A Change of Heart', The Coach Journal, 16 47-49) points out that your GP may be puzzled to find your heart rate ticking over at between 36-44bpm (normal approx 72).
Some further investigations using an ECG may show a thickening of the heart muscle wall, while the chest X-ray reveals a large heart. Top it all off with some blood tests showing high levels of muscle enzymes, and the GP might be forgiven for thinking you've got a complete heart block, hypertension, heart failure and a recent myocardial infarct! Now, unless you have chest pain, breathlessness or other abnormal symptoms, Dr Erith advises you to tell your GP not to worry. 'You see, I'm an endurance athlete and all of the above has a logical explanation':
Large heart: Regular endurance training is associated with an increase in cardiac size.
Thick walls: Endurance training will increase the size of the heart muscle cells, helping to improve its contractility (in other words, helping it pump blood more effectively).
Resting heart rate: This is reduced in athletes as a result of training by a number of mechanisms and again is to be expected.
High levels of muscle enzymes: Muscle enzymes (CPK) are released into the blood following a tough training session and are similar to cardiac muscle enzymes which may cause some confusion and have the GP thinking that you have suffered a heart attack.
So the next time you go to see your GP let him in on the fact that you are an endurance athlete.
Large heart: Regular endurance training is associated with an increase in cardiac size.
Thick walls: Endurance training will increase the size of the heart muscle cells, helping to improve its contractility (in other words, helping it pump blood more effectively).
Resting heart rate: This is reduced in athletes as a result of training by a number of mechanisms and again is to be expected.
High levels of muscle enzymes: Muscle enzymes (CPK) are released into the blood following a tough training session and are similar to cardiac muscle enzymes which may cause some confusion and have the GP thinking that you have suffered a heart attack.
So the next time you go to see your GP let him in on the fact that you are an endurance athlete.
