An American study has shown that senior athletes are more likely to develop heart rhythm problems.
Heart rhythm problems due to excess physical activity, this is the finding of a study from the University of Manchester, in the United States, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications. It highlights the fact that senior athletes are more prone to developing heart rhythm problems.
Elderly athletes of a certain age who have practiced endurance sports for many years, such as marathons, triathlons and Iron Man (extreme triathlon) could therefore have arrhythmia problems.
30 heart beats per minute
While an adult has an average of 60 to 100 heartbeats per minute, athletes’ hearts beat about 30 times per minute. Cyclists Sir Chris Hoy and Miguel Indurain, for example, have a resting heart rate of 30 and 28 beats per minute.
Dr Alicia D’Souza, University of Manchester and lead author of the study said: “In fact, the pacemaker changes with exercise and in particular there is a decrease in a regulatory protein. important, known as HCN4, and this is responsible for the low heart rate. “
The molecular changes occurring in this natural stimulator could explain why many athletes feel unwell.
Different consequences between young athletes and senior athletes
These results are important, according to Professor Mark Boyett, principal investigator of the study, because while low resting heart rate is not a problem for young athletes, senior athletes with long sports careers are more likely to develop arrhythmia. “Although endurance sports can have harmful effects on the heart, this is largely outweighed by the beneficial effects,” added the researcher.
Endurance is very popular, more than 500 marathons being organized each year in Europe and the United States, bringing together more than a million people, and the number of participants increases by 5% each year.
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