The Athletic Heart Needs Care, Too

Athletes seem to be in peak physical condition. Their physiques are something to behold. But a book can’t be judged by its cover and athletes’ hearts are increasingly gaining more attention through the specialized practice of sports cardiology. 

A Balanced Heart Is A Healthy Heart

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The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus reported earlier this year on several recent heart issues in athletes including the widely publicized Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin’s sudden cardiac arrest while he was playing a National Football League (NFL) game. This incident put a face on a problem that otherwise wasn’t well recognized as the concern it is. 

What’s Happening to Athletes’ Hearts?

Earlier this year, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) held its Care of the Athletic Heart conference; one of the pieces of research presented is that athletics have a risk of hypertension and/or other future heart-related complications in the future. 

The study found that nearly half – 47 percent – of adults had high blood pressure. This new body of research raised the importance of studying and developing a protocol for treating high blood pressure in young athletes to help prevent the negative effects of this, including hypertension, as adults.

Another finding announced at the conference was which types of athletes had the greatest incidence of hypertension. Those were:

1. Athletes in multiple sports – 28 percent
2. Basketball players – 28 percent
3. Football players – 27 percent

Why might basketball and football seemingly be particularly hard on an athletes’ heart? Among the considerations the study surmised were the dietary habits of that particular sport, the athletes’ body size, the particular type of training and social determinants of health such as where someone grew up. 

Sports Cardiology

This particular subspecialty of cardiology has grown over the last 10 years because of the increased attention and vital role these physicians play. After an athlete has an incident, they are among the caregivers determining if and when it’s safe for them to return to their sport of choice. 

To prevent incidents such as what happened to Hamlin and other athletes that have either lost their lives or had a significant heart event exercising, there needs to be greater attention paid to athletes’ particular needs and their hearts.