Endurance exercise 'interferes with heart rhythm'

[Misfit1]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27389257

A British Heart Foundation team found exercise in mice triggers molecular changes in the part of the heart that generates its natural beating rhythm.

This may explain why elite athletes have low resting heart rates and a higher risk heart rhythm disturbances, they told Nature Communications.

Endurance athletes are generally very fit.

Yet, paradoxically, they are more likely to have heart rhythm disturbances, known as arrhythmias, especially as they get older - although the risk is still small.

 

[ripskater]

Moderation is probably key here. Better to run than do nothing, be fat, have high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep apnea.

 

[ironwolf]

Cool link.

But...

I'll keep running. Got a 100k coming up in a few months. Can't rest too much now.

 

[grrthetree]

There is a difference between an endurance athlete who spends many(10+) hours per week in an elevated heartrate and an athlete using aerobic exercise for sports performance. The same way that anaerobic training increases the cardiac wall thickness is a bad thing, the opposite direction also has drawbacks.

 

[RevXwise]

For some reason, this is the opposite for me. I sometimes get arrhythmias, but I only get the arrhythmias on heavy lifting days. I also usually only get them a few hours after I'm done lifting; never while I'm actually working out.