Best Practice Case Studies-Athlete's Heart

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Athlete’s heart is a physiological condition observed in individuals who engage in regular strenuous and prolonged exercise. It involves normal changes in the structure and function of the heart to meet the increased demands of physical activity. These adaptations include an increase in the thickness and size of the left ventricle, increased blood output, and a lowered resting heart rate. Typically, athlete's heart is asymptomatic, but it may present with a slower heart rate, an extra heart sound, or occasionally a heart murmur, detectable only by a medical professional with a stethoscope.<br /><br />Though these signs are normal and not a significant health risk, they should be differentiated from other serious conditions such as aortic stenosis or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. For this reason, sports medicine evaluations often include a thorough medical history, electrocardiograms (EKG), echocardiograms, and exercise stress tests.<br /><br />No treatment is necessary for athlete’s heart because there is no evidence of long-term risks associated with these exercise-induced cardiac changes. However, to ensure that no other heart conditions are present, medical clearance might be necessary. If an athlete stops exercising intensely, any anatomical changes in the heart usually reverse to normal within about three months. <br /><br />Regular exercise exceeding one hour per day may lead to the development of athlete's heart, often discovered incidentally during a sports physical. Sports medicine physicians, such as members of AMSSM, specialize in the comprehensive care of such conditions and can be found at www.amssm.org.

Meta Tag

Edition 2nd Edition

Related Case 2nd Edition, CASE 06

Topic Cardiac

Keywords

2nd Edition, CASE 06

2nd Edition

Cardiac

athlete's heart

physiological condition

strenuous exercise

heart adaptations

left ventricle

resting heart rate

sports medicine

electrocardiograms

exercise stress tests

cardiac changes