The number of emails that come from fellow cyclists (and endurance athletes) with heart rhythm issues amazes me. I am more convinced than ever that our “hobby” predisposes us to electrical issues like atrial fibrillation (AF)—that the science is right. Obviously, my pedaling “habit” creates an exposure bias. I hear from many of you because […]
Category: Athletic heart
It’s heart-wrenching when young athletes die of sudden cardiac death (SCD). This week, the death of Wes Leonard, a Michigan high school star athlete, was especially poignant since he collapsed right after hitting the game-winning shot. This sort of tragedy occurs about one hundred times each year in America. That’s a lot of sadness. The […]
An interesting question came from another sub-specialist–via the comments section of my recent post on the practical difficulties of screening young athletes with routine ECGs. “I’m asked week-in and week-out about screening exams and tests for adult athletes. What do YOU recommend for the seemingly healthy 25-45 year old male non-elite athlete who asks about […]
Sudden death in a young athlete is surely a tragic event. Sadly, many of the afflicted had an underlying undiagnosed heart anomaly that might have been detected with a screening ECG. On the surface, the idea seems so simple: just add an ECG to the routine pre-sport’s history and physical exam. ECGs are painless, non-invasive […]
As a cardiologist and advocate for healthy living through exercise, the bleak news of rising childhood obesity hits me hard. But as an endurance athlete well versed in the inflammatory effects of excessive exercise, and a coach of middle school children, recent news reports on the over-training of American youth is equally troublesome. The over-training of […]
What do I mean when I say, “rapidly conducting AF?” Explaining AF in a short blog is impossible. Massively thick books have been written, and week long symposium are routinely given on AF . That said, here is my best impression of Sal Khan, who can explain nearly anything in a 10 min video. When […]
It is pretty cool that my town, Louisville, KY, was named the 21st best cycling city, by Bicycling magazine. Each city gets one picture in the feature, and Louisville’s snapshot features yours truly on the tandem with Will as stoker, my best-friend Bob Bobrow to our right, and one of the Mandrola’s favorite teenagers, Andrew […]
Many of my athletic colleagues have shared their arrhythmia stories, both publicly and privately. The volume of these correspondences have surprised me. It is clear from reading many of these stories, that a few points of clarification are needed. I was furhter inspired to write more on the athlete conundrum after reading this Facebook status […]
Exercise is good for you. It forms one of the triads of health: good nutrition, good movement, and good sleep. However, like in life, too much of anything is counterproductive, even destructive. I have long struggled to explain the steady stream of hyper-fit, uber-athletic endurance athletes who see me for arrhythmias. A membership in […]
It is a seemingly endless classroom, forty foot warehouse type ceiling, all black walls, five bipoles of jumbo screen monitors and hundreds of atrial fibrillation experts from all over the world, speaking in many dialects and languages. A long way from the friendly confines and comfort of lab 5, the electrophysiology lab on Kresge Way. […]