Recently we’ve talked Bien Probadora a good friend of mine since high school. He told me that he has a heart enlargement.
I was shock and ask him again what did he say? WHHHAAATTT? Men are you serious?
Then he state again that it’s just normal. Whhhhaaattt noorrmmmaaall?
We are at the middle of our meeting when he told me this, meeting for Runnilla Eco Challenge. I brought my laptop and Jake also had his 3G Globe Stick so we have an internet at that time. He told me to open his fb profile page to satisfy me that it’s just normal.
I open it and read this:
I AM NORMAL…
Lately, I just had a medical check up that stops my running routine. I had medical tests and was asked to report to our company clinic. Yesterday i was at Perpetual Succour Hospital for my ECG and 2DEcho. And the initial finding of my cardiologist is that I am just having an Athletes Heart. My average heart rate is at 55. But upon knowing what it means I am much eager to train hard…
Athletic heart syndrome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Athlete’s heart
Athletic heart syndrome, (AHS) also known as athlete’s heart, athletic bradycardia or exercise-induced cardiomegaly is a non-pathological condition commonly seen in sports medicine, in which the human heart is enlarged, and the resting heart rate is lower than normal.
Athlete’s heart is common in athletes who routinely exercise more than an hour a day, and occurs primarily in endurance athletes, though it can occasionally arise in heavy weight trainers. The condition is generally believed to be a benign one, but may sometimes be hard to distinguish from other serious medical conditions. For example, on the results of an electrocardiogram (EKG) athletic heart syndrome may be mistakenly interpreted as evidence of serious heart disease.
To add this from Wikipedia:
Cause
Athlete’s heart is a result of dynamic physical activity such as (more than 5 hours a week) aerobic training, rather than static training such as weight lifting. During intensive prolonged endurance or strength training, the body signals the heart to pump more blood through the body to counteract the oxygen deficit building in the skeletal muscles. Enlargement of the heart is a natural physical adaptation of the body to deal with the high pressures and large amounts of blood that can affect the heart during these periods of time. Over time, the body will increase both the chamber size of the left ventricle, and the muscle mass and wall thickness of the heart.
Cardiac output, the amount of blood that leaves the heart in a given time period (i.e. liters per minute), is proportional to both the chamber sizes of the heart and the rate at which the heart beats. With a larger left ventricle, the heart rate can decrease and still maintain a level of cardiac output necessary for the body. Therefore, it is very common for athletes with AHS to have lower resting heart rates than nonathletes.
The heart becomes enlarged, or hypertrophic, due to intense cardiovascular workouts, creating an increase in stroke volume, an enlarged left ventricle (and right ventricle), and a decrease in resting pulse along with irregular rhythms. The wall of the left ventricle increases in size by about 15–20% of its normal capacity. There is no decrease of the diastolic function of the left ventricle. The patient may also experience an irregular heartbeat and a resting pulse rate between 40–60 beats per minute, also known as bradycardia.
The level of physical activity in a person determines what physiological changes the heart makes. There are two types of exercise: Static (strength-training) and dynamic (endurance-training). Static exercise consists of weight lifting and is mostly anaerobic, meaning the body does not rely on oxygen for performance. It also moderately increases heart rate and stroke volume (oxygen debt). Dynamic exercises are running, swimming, skiing, and cycling, which rely on oxygen from the body. This type of exercise also increases both heart rate and stroke volume of the heart. Both static and dynamic exercises involve the thickening of the left ventricular wall due to increased cardiac output, which leads to physiologic hypertrophy of the heart. It has been shown that once athletes stop training, the heart returns to its normal size.
Diagnosis
Athlete’s heart is usually an incidental finding during a routine screening or during tests for other medical issues. An enlarged heart can be seen at echocardiography or sometimes on a chest X-ray. Similarities at presentation between athlete’s heart and clinically relevant cardiac problems may prompt electrocardiography (ECG) and exercise cardiac stress tests.
Read more here>>>
I was relieved by then, that he is normal. That’s why when I run, my watch on my wrist get tight and adjust it to loosen it. Our muscles in our body get bigger cause the veins that supply Oxygen to our heart double it’s effort and our heart becomes bigger too.
That’s why we Athletes or Runners are “Mahigugmaon”(Loving), cause we have a big heart.
Our picture together with Bien, this was taken 5050 Sundown Bohol Ultramarathon 2013.
And as an Ultra Runner my heart will be forever an Ultra and I’ll just stop running if this heart of mine will stop pumping.
*Featured photo by Edz Kat
———————————————————————————-
Posted by: Vissuelo “Soybiyz” A. Rebojo.
Your contact person if you want your running event be posted in Aktib.ph
Like us on facebook Aktib.ph and you can reach me at Soybitz Facebook or send me your run event through: vissuelo@aktib.ph
#Life is boring without Running.
No comments yet.