With the Rio Olympics coming some reports are asking can we harm our heart by extreme training and exercise?

With the Rio Olympics coming some reports are asking can we harm our heart by extreme training and exercise?
Photo Credit: University of Toronto

Rio Olympics: can too much exercise/training cause heart problems?

Athletes preparing for the Olympic games must push their physical condition to the limit. Athletes not at the Olympic level, often push their bodies to their own limits.

Some have suggested this can cause heart problems later in life. Reports indicate a higher incidence of arrhythmia in athletes later in life.

Jack Goodman (PhD) is currently examining the issue in a study called  Cardiac Consequences of Excessive Endurance Exercise in his “exercise and cardiac health lab” at the University of Toronto and another study on the ‘athletic heart and exercise” at the University of Toronto 

He is a professor there in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education.

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Jack Goodman, PhD, professor at the Univeristy of Toronto studies exercise and various physical activities/sports affects on the heart
Jack Goodman, PhD, professor at the University of Toronto studies exercise and various physical activities/sports affects on the heart © CBC

Professor Goodman is studying the issue of this apparent increase in arrhythmia in athletes. While this has been reported as problematic in some media, Goodman points out that these cases are not life threatening.

He also notes that in fact athletes tend to live slightly longer.

He points out that for the average person two-and-a-half hours of moderate to vigorous exercise a week is recommended to provide clear health gains in terms of weight loss, heart health, and other disease risk reduction.

He says the best gains in fitness and cardio-vascular health come from endurance type exercise such as cycling or swimming, but that all exercise or training efforts promote better health.

As for athletic training at the elite level, he says coaches are very careful to vary training regimes until bringing it all together to enable the athlete to be at their peak at the time of the Olympics.

Professor Goodman notes that there is a slight increase in certain heart conditions among elite athletes, but their seriousness may be exaggerated
Professor Goodman notes that there is a slight increase in certain heart conditions among elite athletes, but their seriousness may be exaggerated © CBC

Professor Goodman’s research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) which is the Government of Canada’s health research investment agency.

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