Most sudden cardiac deaths in sport do not affect professional athletes, but ambitious amateur athletes.
According to the Germany-wide register, 265 cases of sudden cardiac arrest * have been recorded during exercise in the past four and a half years.
But only four of these cases were competitive athletes, says Philipp Bohm from the University Heart Center Zurich.
"
Men were almost exclusively affected
, the average age was 47 years," says Bohm according to
aerzteblatt.de
.
Most of the deaths are said to have occurred in the sports that are most popular among Germans: playing soccer and running.
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Causes of Sudden Cardiac Arrest During Exercise
The causes of sudden cardiac arrest during exercise are
depending on age
very differently
. In athletes under 35 years of age, cardiac muscle diseases, congenital malfunctions of the coronary arteries and cardiac muscle inflammation can be the reason for cardiac arrest. In those over 35 years of age, coronary artery disease is the most common cause. This means that the large veins that supply oxygen to the heart are narrowed.
The problem is that most recreational athletes over the age of 35 do not have regular sports cardiological examinations - this is confirmed by the registry.
The European Society for Cardiology recommends at least a resting ECG for sports medicine examinations.
“However, it is also important - especially for athletes over 35 years of age -
to
carry out
an exercise ECG at regular intervals
.
This allows you to get indications of a reduced blood flow in the heart muscle, recognize any rhythm disturbances and objectively assess the physical performance of the athlete, ”says Bohm.
Sudden cardiac arrest in professional athletes
If competitive athletes suffer sudden cardiac arrest, this often puzzles doctors.
Because the athletes are checked regularly.
According to the
ÄrzteZeitung
, more than three quarters of the cases do not
reveal
any structural heart disease or other changes that should have previously been detected in a cardiological examination.
Nevertheless, even professional athletes can suffer cardiac arrest out of nowhere - even if this happens extremely rarely.
(cw) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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