Interesting article about endurance athletes and heart problems.

[Colin_P]

A very interesting read, especially if you are a bit older and have been doing extreme pedal turning...

Read, if only for increasing your awareness.

http://velonews.competitor.com/cycling.extremes

I'm far from ever being an athlete and have never really done endurance but do have these issues.

 

[tyred]

I don't really do anything to the extreme.

 

[mjr]

Odd article, lots of reasons not to cycle and then saying it's good. But basically, the advice is don't overcook it, chill (IMO being type-A is going to get you sooner or later), and pootling may be better for racing? Maybe @Fab Foodie and @Pat "5mph" will like this too

 

[ColinJ]

Also see ... exercise-induced arterial endofibrosis and osteoporosis in long distance cyclists.

We're all doomed - let's retire to our beds!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Odd article, lots of reasons not to cycle and then saying it's good. But basically, the advice is don't overcook it, chill (IMO being type-A is going to get you sooner or later), and pootling may be better for racing? Maybe @Fab Foodie and @Pat "5mph" will like this too

I thought it was a good article, though I'm not sure it says anything terribly new. Constantly pushing your body to the limit doesn't seem a good idea in my book. Seems like the mellower cyclists may yet inherit the earth!

 

[Crackle]

What about us shoot ones who are pushing just as hard to go nowhere fast?

 

[Fab Foodie]

What about us shoot ones who are pushing just as hard to go nowhere fast?

You're screwed ....

 

[Crackle]

You're screwed ....

Ah feck.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Maybe @Fab Foodie and @Pat "5mph" will like this too

More likely for me to get diabetes or high colesterol due to all the cake I eat, than getting a heart attack due to over exercising

 

[jessand]

These articles can be related to a much bigger study released a year or so ago where Scandinavian researchers published a paper which examined lots of studies carried out over the last few years. This showed that high levels of exercise (they focused mainly on runners) caused similar damage to the heart as complete lack of exercise. A British doctor interviewed at the time, was pushed to comment on what constituted "too much" exercise. He started by pointing out that "three 30 minute sessions of brisk walking per week" would meet the activity an adult needs to stay healthy. Further pushed he said the anyone running several marathons a year would be at risk of developing heart disease. One of the larger studies where they tracked participants over 20 years found that more extreme athletes died during the study than those who were obese - despite the athletes having low resting heart rate and blood pressure!

It certainly made me think - not that my cycling could be considered extreme. I've worn a HRM for years, just for interest, but it does mean that I'd spot any major change.

 

[Prometheus]

Before we all go, doctor doctor can you save me!

Astronauts after 6 months in orbit lose a staggering 60% of calcium.
NASA puts them on a special diet and exercise program.
So far I have not been able find out what this is.
If we could find this out, it maybe very useful to us.

 

[Yorksman]

I've read several reports on people damaging their hearts through extreme exercise. Joggers know of the problems like damaged knees or tendons but for some reason, there is a myth that getting your heart to beat faster and for longer periods is doing it good. Everything has a limit though and the scarring in the heart short circuits the electrical pulses and disturbes the normal sinus rhythm. I have heart failure, due to a different condition, but keeping myself within sinus rhythm is important because abnormal rhythms can easily make the heart falure worse. Take it easy/easier is, in my case, something I just have to do.

Not that this means do nothing. It's been a year or so since I was last on a bike ride which left me breathless. After having had several procedure and an ICD implant I was recently cardioverted back into normal sinus rhythm. I have been keeping myself moving by cycling steadily on a trainer in the shed, where I could monitor my heart rate and see it bouncing between 60 and 130. After cardioversion, on the trainer, it just stays short of 90 and is quite steady.

The recent good weather though caused me to venture out into the real world and on both days my heart rate would get upto 120. Good thing is, it quickly goes down again when I stop. Now 120 is nothing for these guys who want to see it around 200 or higher whilst pushing it hard for several hours but, for some people, it starts to get dangerous. The problem is, fit people don't know if they are one of those who might develop scarring. At least I know I have a knackered heart and I am actually quite chuffed to be able to cycle for 2 or 3 hours. Cycling can be for pleasure and enjoyment and doesn't have to be about testing personal limits.

 

[toontra]

I'm 60. When my GP learned about my fondness for endurance cycling he packed me off for extensive scans, blood tests, etc. Luckily all good - I was actually complimented on the health of my heart and cardio-vascular system in general.

Getting tested maybe a wise precaution though, especially for those taking up cycling or increasing intensity.

 

[Colin_P]

The problem is, fit people don't know if they are one of those who might develop scarring. At least I know I have a knackered heart and I am actually quite chuffed to be able to cycle for 2 or 3 hours. Cycling can be for pleasure and enjoyment and doesn't have to be about testing personal limits.

Good post @Yorksman and @toontra a wise call getting checked out.

That is why I posted up the link at the start. And that is to raise awareness.

Obviously not everyone is going to be unlucky and suffer but some will and do. And when it comes to these types of heart issues often there are no second chances.


Yorks, do you know what your settings are?

Mine are;
Shock threshold is 220bpm
Brady pacing cut in at below 40bpm
And ATP (anti tach pacing) is enabled.

I've not been zapped on the bike but have had three whilst resting.

 

[Yorksman]

Mine are;
Shock threshold is 220bpm
Brady pacing cut in at below 40bpm
And ATP (anti tach pacing) is enabled.

I've not been zapped on the bike but have had three whilst resting.

I think they are 200bpm for a shock, 50 for brady pacing and there are four 'zones' for VT pacing which start at around 160, to try and get me out of it before giving me a good kicking. I was being brady paced 30% of the time before cardioversion.

I spent a lot of time monitoring my HR before cardioversion and since cardioversion, all under different conditions. HR is much more steady now and within good upper and lower limits. I hope it stays this way because if I go back into AFib they are going to try resynchronisation therapy - another electrical lead into my heart. The problem is, it's not easy to fit when you have an ICD on the RHS. I get nervous when the cardiologist says, 'but it might still be possible'. Fingers crossed I stay in rhythm.