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Athletic Heart Syndrome, Sports Medicine

Evan D. Perez, MD, Daniel Murphy, MD, FAAFP and Justin M. Wright, MD, CAQSM Reviewed 04/2019
 


BASICS

DESCRIPTION

  • A benign condition consisting of physiologic adaptations to increased cardiac workload. Primary features include biventricular hypertrophy and bradycardia.

  • Associated with normal syst...

DIAGNOSIS

HISTORY

  • Differentiate benign physiologic change from pathologic conditions.

  • History of chest pain, dizziness, impaired exercise capacity, or syncope with exercise may be suggestive of patholog...

TREATMENT

GENERAL MEASURES

  • Unwarranted discontinuation of exercise may have unintended psychological ramifications to the athlete.

  • Reassure the athlete that the observed changes are normal physiologic a...

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Many of the physiologic adaptations observed in athletic heart syndrome resolve when exercise is stopped.

  • The adaptations that occur in resistant or static athlete...

REFERENCES

1
Dawes TJ, Corden B, Cotter S, et al. Moderate physical activity in healthy adults is associated with cardiac remodeling. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging.  2016;9(8):e004712.
2
Baggish AL, Battl...

ADDITIONAL READING

  • Baggish AL. Exercise-induced cardiac remodeling: competitive athletes are just the tip of the iceberg. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging.  2016;9(8):e005321.

  • Drezner JA, O’Connor FG, Harm...

CLINICAL PEARLS

  • Physiologic response to exercise; no increased risk with participation

  • Important to differentiate from pathologic conditions that place athlete at risk for sudden cardiac death

  • ECG, echo...

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