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Scar tissue within the coronary heart was related to irregular coronary heart rhythms amongst wholesome, long-time male endurance athletes aged 50 or older, doubtlessly growing their danger of sudden cardiac loss of life, in keeping with a small examine revealed in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, an American Coronary heart Affiliation journal.
An irregular rhythm originating from a ventricular coronary heart chamber, known as ventricular tachycardia, is taken into account some of the critical kinds of irregular coronary heart rhythm. This can be very harmful and may result in sudden cardiac loss of life. Sudden cardiac arrest is a number one reason for loss of life in athletes, largely affecting older males.
Myocardial fibrosis—the scarring or thickening of coronary heart muscle tissue—has beforehand been linked to irregular heartbeats; nevertheless, the way it impacts in any other case wholesome endurance athletes stays unclear.
“Dangerous heart rhythms during sport are thankfully rare,” mentioned senior examine writer Peter Swoboda, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., an affiliate professor of cardiology on the College of Leeds within the U.Okay. “In sure extremely educated athletes—significantly as they become old—it’s attainable to determine scarred coronary heart tissue by way of magnetic resonance imaging. We wished to research whether or not harmful coronary heart rhythms in endurance athletes is likely to be brought on by coronary heart scarring.
“Our main aim was to help endurance athletes continue to participate safely in sports, particularly as they get older,” he mentioned.
The examine, known as VENTOUX, was named after a well-known mountain climb within the world-renowned Tour de France bike race. The researchers adopted 106 male cyclists/triathletes aged 50 or older, who had no signs of coronary heart illness. All had educated at the very least 10 hours every week for 15 years or extra.
The contributors underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, a specialised check that makes use of magnetic fields to provide detailed pictures of the center. Additionally they had an ECG recorder implanted underneath the pores and skin of their chest that recorded each heartbeat for 2 years.
Throughout a mean follow-up of two years, researchers discovered:
Virtually half of the athletes (47.2%) confirmed indicators of scarring on the left ventricle of the center; and
About 3% of the athletes displayed a sustained, doubtlessly harmful quick coronary heart price originating within the decrease chambers of the center, whereas 19% skilled shorter bursts of fast heartbeats.
Any participant who developed a doubtlessly dangerous rhythm was contacted urgently to evaluate signs and suggested to hunt unbiased medical consideration.
“We did not expect the association between scarring and dangerous rhythms to be this strong,” Swoboda mentioned. “Similar findings have been reported in patients with heart muscle disease. However, we did not expect this in healthy, performance athletes.”
He urged any athlete who experiences chest ache, dizziness or palpitations throughout exercise to hunt therapy and in addition suggested, “It’s important that everyone involved in sports knows CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator.”
Though the annual incidence of sudden cardiac loss of life throughout sports activities varies amongst research, the annual price of irregular coronary heart rhythms detected on this examine was significantly larger than charges among the many basic inhabitants.
The examine has a number of limitations, resembling together with a small variety of very choose contributors. The findings might not apply to individuals not represented within the examine: girls, non-athletes or non-European cyclists. As well as, the findings couldn’t differentiate whether or not the cardiac scarring itself was the reason for irregular coronary heart rhythms or if it was a marker for a separate underlying course of.
Future analysis will look at girls, the authors mentioned.
Extra data:
Ventricular Arrhythmia and Cardiac Fibrosis in Endurance Skilled Athletes (VENTOUX), Circulation Cardiovascular Imaging (2025). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.125.018470
Supplied by
American Coronary heart Affiliation
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Scar tissue in athletes’ hearts tied to larger danger of harmful cardiac rhythms (2025, July 17)
retrieved 17 July 2025
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