4 minute read
Key takeaways
- Exercise is excellent for the heart, but doing extreme routines and overexerting yourself often can be potentially harmful for the heart and can trigger cardiovascular issues.
- Warning signs of heart problems during exercise shouldn’t be ignored and should be checked if they’re a cause for concern.
- It’s highly recommended that athletes and highly active individuals have regular heart checks to detect potential problems early.
Exercise, in general, is extremely beneficial for cardiovascular health as well as overall well-being. When done safely, it is possible to exercise if you experience a heart concern, such as heart disease or heart failure.
However, whether you are healthy or experiencing heart concerns, doing too much exercise and pushing yourself too far can be damaging to the heart or trigger underlying cardiovascular issues. Understanding the warning signs could literally save your life or the life of a training partner.
In this article, I will detail the link between heart health and extreme exercise, how exercise can affect those with a heart issue, and how this can be assessed and monitored through our clinic’s expert diagnostic tests.
When exercise is too much
Consistent exercise is an important way to improve your general health. It can help maintain your overall fitness, help build strong muscles and bones, reduce the risk of chronic disease, improve mood, and slow physical decline.
Exercise can also be greatly beneficial for helping to reduce the development of conditions that can impact your heart, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity.
However, excessively exercising and pushing yourself too far regularly can put you at risk of developing certain heart concerns due to strain on the heart muscle.
Recent research has found that a small percentage of middle-aged and older athletes who compete in endurance events over many years may be at higher risk for developing atrial fibrillation.
Additional research has found evidence that high-intensity exercise can increase the risk for sudden heart attack or sudden cardiac death in individuals with underlying heart disease. It can also increase the risk of heart rhythm disorders, especially for the minority who have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or coronary heart disease.
Additionally, in individuals who train regularly at a high intensity, particularly in endurance or strength sports, the heart naturally adapts to meet the increased physical demands. This can lead to a condition known as athlete’s heart. This is where the heart muscle becomes slightly enlarged, the walls thicken, and your resting heart rate lowers. These changes help the heart pump more efficiently and are generally considered normal in well-trained people.
Although athlete’s heart is usually not harmful and often reverses if training intensity is reduced, it can be mistaken for other heart conditions. As a result, heart concerns may be dismissed and go undiagnosed. On the flip side, you may become too anxious about your heart and think you have a condition when that isn’t the case.
It’s essential for athletes, particularly those training at high levels for many years, to undergo regular heart check-ups to identify any underlying health issues.
Warning signs to be aware of during exercise
Recognising signs that there may be issues with your heart during exercise can be life-changing. The following symptoms should never be ignored or attributed to ‘normal’ exercise stress:
- Chest pain or pressure during activity – This is usually cardiac pain that feels like pressure, squeezing, or a heavy weight on your chest. It may radiate to your left arm, jaw, or back and often worsens with continued activity.
- Severe shortness of breath – While breathlessness is normal during intense exercise, breathing difficulty due to heart issues often feels different. It feels more like you can’t get enough air, despite your fitness level and the intensity of your activity.
- Dizziness, light-headedness, or fainting – These symptoms can indicate dangerous drops in blood pressure or heart rhythm abnormalities that affect the blood flow to the brain.
- Heart palpitations or the sensation of irregular, racing, or skipping heartbeats – While it’s normal to feel your heart beating hard during intense activity, irregular rhythm, fluttering, or heart ‘skipping’ beats require immediate attention.
- Excessive fatigue – This isn’t the normal tiredness that comes with a challenging workout, but rather an overwhelming sense of exhaustion that seems out of proportion to your effort and the intensity of your workout.
Many cardiac warning signs are more subtle and easily dismissed as training-related issues. Declining performance despite consistent training can indicate underlying heart problems, especially if the decline is sudden or develops over a short period of time.
Unusual recovery patterns, such as a heart rate that remains elevated long after exercise or feeling unusually tired for days following training sessions, can also signal cardiac stress. It’s important to pay attention to changes in your normal recovery patterns.
Testing for cardiac concerns
For individuals who exercise regularly, it’s essential to undergo consistent heart assessments to help identify any underlying heart conditions that could be at risk of presenting during physical exercise.
During your initial consultation, we will need a detailed account of your personal and family medical history alongside a physical examination, focusing on symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, and any history of heart disease.
For those under 35, we may recommend an electrocardiogram (ECG) to help detect rhythm disturbances and conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
For those over 35, we would also assess heart risk factors such as cholesterol and blood pressure. To investigate this, we recommend that you undergo an exercise test to evaluate your heart rhythm and blood flow during physical exertion. If any abnormal findings are detected or symptoms are present, further tests such as an echocardiogram, ambulatory ECG (Holter monitor), or cardiac MRI may be recommended to provide a clearer picture of your heart’s structure and function.
Routine screening is recommended every 1–2 years for competitive athletes or anyone engaged in regular vigorous physical activity. The goal is to ensure your safety and support long-term heart health.
At the clinic, the team and I will guide you in maintaining a healthy heart and keeping track of your fitness. We can offer advanced tests and personalised plans to help you identify any potential heart issues.
If you’re concerned about your heart health and take part in regular exercise, contact us today to discuss addressing your concerns and put your mind at ease.
