The study was performed at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and was presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Echocardiography. There were eighty-five, teen athletes involved in the research screening. The screening included a health questionnaire, physical exam, echocardiogram (EKG), and a fifteen image, modified echo, which took an average of nine minutes to obtain. The echoes that were deemed abnormal were referred for a complete echo, where a cardiologist would read the results. Ten of the participants (12%) had abnormal echoes and were referred for further evaluation. These ten participants were found to be otherwise normal, but the echoes were confirmed as abnormal.²

This study suggests screenings should add a modified echo to the current panel of taking an EKG, getting a family history, and administering a physical exam. The findings of the study indicate that a shortened echo may increase the sensitivity of finding heart defects in competitive athletes.³

“EKG is a good tool, but may not be sensitive enough to catch problems that could lead to sudden death,” says Michelle Grenier, MD, a physician at the Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute and one of the investigators on the study. “We found that an abbreviated echo is a fiscally responsible addition that will yield useful information when screening student athletes for structural heart disease and cardiomyopathies – heart muscle diseases that are the major cause of sudden death in athletes.”⁴

“The number of patients with asymptomatic, congenital heart disease was higher than expected, but the rate of cardiomyopathy – the main cause of sudden death in athletes – is probably closer to the published rate,” says Dr. Grenier. “Our goal is to provide useful information to care providers, who may then better counsel athletes and their families on full participation in sports.⁵

“The cost-effectiveness and impact on reducing the rate of sudden cardiac death aren’t yet known, but the impact on quality of life in reassurance of cardiac health during exercise is priceless,” she says.⁶

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post New, Better Screening Method for Sudden Death in Athletes appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The study compared the arterial stiffness of highly active U.S. Master Swimmers to people who reported only being moderately active, or even completely inactive. It consisted of 21 men and 28 women, of which 33 were classified as highly active. Highly active was considered to be more than 200 minutes of vigorous activity a week. The results of the study showed a significant difference between the highly active group and the others, and there was little difference in stiffness within the highly active group in regards to age or sex.³

Joel Stager, professor and director of the Counsilman Center in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation’s Department of Kinesiology stated the results of the study reinforced the idea that activity could be more influential than aging on some health factors.⁴

Although there was little difference in the arterial stiffness between men and women in the highly active group, Maleah Holland, a graduate student in the Counsilman Center at Indiana University Bloomington, found a significant difference between the men and women in the inactive or moderately active group. Her findings suggested men fared better than women. “Oddly, women, particularly the inactive women, show the greatest risk for cardiovascular disease as compared with other groups,” Holland wrote in her research report. “Thus, conversely, habitually high levels of physical activity may pose a greater benefit for women than for men.” This may have been because the inactive women were even more sedentary than the men classified as inactive.⁵

No matter who benefits the most, the results of this study show living an active lifestyle that includes a rigorous exercise routine is beneficial to one’s cardiac health. Aging is inevitable, and many people suffer from cardiac disorders. As our world suffers from more and more cardiac-related deaths, we now have another reason why everyone should strive to live a healthy and active lifestyle and become fit. Sometimes exercise is the best medicine, and in the case of maintaining heart health, this may also hold true.⁶

The post Activity Level Determines Heart Health, Not Age appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Research shows that about 35% to 65% of the inconsistency in blood pressure among children is based upon parental history. A recently conducted study on over 6,000 people who had a parent with high blood pressure showed those who were highly fit had a 34% lower chance of developing high blood pressure, compared to a person who was not fit.²

At the beginning of the study, which included predominantly Caucasian adults ranging from 20 to 80 years of age, all of whom were healthy and did not suffer from hypertension, 33% reported that a parent suffered from hypertension. During the study there were 1,545 participants who reported they had developed hypertension. It was discovered that those who were at a high level of fitness, whether or not they had a family history of hypertension or not, had a 42% lower risk of developing hypertension. Those who were at a moderate level of fitness still had a 26% lower risk. On the contrary, those who had a lower level of fitness as well as a parent who suffered from hypertension were at a 70% higher risk of developing hypertension, compared to those with no parental history. The study also revealed that those who were fit and had a parent with hypertension only experienced a 16% greater risk of developing hypertension compared to those who had a high level of fitness and had no parental history.³

Robin P. Shook, M.S., who was the study’s lead author and a doctoral graduate student in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, said this on the matter: “Understanding the roles that family history and fitness play in chronic diseases is critically important. The results of this study send a very practical message, which is that even a very realistic, moderate amount of exercise – which we define as brisk walking for 150 minutes per week – can provide a huge health benefit, particularly to people predisposed to hypertension because of their family history.” Basically, what Shook is saying is those who live an active, fitness-related lifestyle greatly reduce their risk of suffering from hypertension compared to that of those who lives a sedentary lifestyle.⁴

This study provides us with yet another added benefit of living a healthy and fit lifestyle. Hypertension currently affects many Americans, and many of us cannot help what our genetics destine us to be at risk to develop. However, becoming fit can definitely aid in helping reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure, and possibly help add some more years to our lives.

The post Get Fit And Beat Your Genetics: Reduce Hypertension appeared first on Breaking Muscle.