Even Olympic athletes with high fitness levels have been known to suffer from life-threatening cardiovascular abnormalities.
A recent study of more than 2,000 athletes who were eligible for the summer and winter Olympic game revealed a surprisingly high prevalence of heart conditions, the European Society of Cardiology reported.
"Even Olympic athletes," said Paulo Emilio Adami from the Institute of Sport Medicine and Science of the Italian Olympic Committee in Rome, "regardless of their superior physical performance and astonishing achievements, showed an unexpected large prevalence of cardiovascular abnormalities, including life-threatening conditions."
The researchers were surprised to find 171 of the 2,354 screened athletes had cardiovascular abnormalities. Six of these athletes had heart conditions that were considered to be life threatening, causing them to be disqualified from the competition; the abnormalities included cardiomyopathies and coronary heart disease.
"It is really surprising that Olympic athletes, who are considered some of the healthiest individuals, should have such significant abnormalities . . . and that despite these abnormalities they had managed to reach such high competitive levels. In most of the cases, their abnormalities had gone [unrecognized], because the screenings they had previously had were not as extensive and thorough as the ones we applied," Adami said. "We cannot take it for granted that elite athletes are healthy. This study demonstrates that a more accurate assessment is necessary for elite professional athletes than for members of the general population, in view of the intensity and stress on their cardiovascular system through so many hours of training and competition. We suggest that our model of screening is applied to all elite athletes, regardless of the sport they practice."
