Posted in Heart Health for Athletes

IAAF allowed to impose DSD regulations on female athletes Ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport 2 May, 2019 According to today's article in the Sydney Morning Herald: Olympic 800-metres champion Caster Semenya has had an appeal dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to halt the introduction of regulations to restrict testosterone levels in female athletes. The court ruled the regulations were needed for athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) to...

So, you've had an episode of atrial fibrillation that is now resolved. What next? The findings of a UK-based study published in the British Medical Journal in 2018, which involved nearly 50,000 patients in general practices, found that patients with resolved atrial fibrillation remain at higher risk of stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) than patients without atrial fibrillation. The researchers concluded that: "Guidelines should be updated to advocate contin...

Exercise may stimulate the growth of more new heart muscle cells, even after having a heart attack. Exercise prescription is gaining significant importance in clinical practice, as more and more research provides compelling evidence to support the role of exercise in disease prevention and chronic illness management. In short, we are running out of excuses not to exercise. Researchers from the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard ...

Does screening athletes for cardiac conditions save lives? Advocates of screening athletes for cardiac conditions claim that "screening saves lives". Research is showing that this approach may actually be flawed, and that screening might be doing more harm than good. I tend to agree. An article in the Guardian by Nicola Davis (April 2016) summarises very nicely the inadequacies with pre-participation screening programs for athletes and the research gaps that sit behind them. Davis...

A matter of the heart Treadmill running is a matter close to my own heart, quite literally. An avid runner since my childhood, the first time I ever set foot on a treadmill was after being diagnosed with my cardiac condition (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) back in 2005. Cardiologists told me then that my running days were over, as running would heighten my risk of cardiac arrest and dying suddenly. I was faced with a dilemma to run or not to run? The thought of not running was unimaginable. Th...