Abstract
Background

Controversy surrounds the cardiac effects of competitive sports and the athlete’s heart. In this review, we present and discuss the main cardiological findings in competitive athletes.

Method

Selective review of pertinent literature retrieved by a search with the keywords “athlete’s heart,” “ECG,” “echocardiography,” “endurance exercise,” “longevity,” and others.

Results

Regular exercise leads to functional and structural adaptations that improve cardiac function. Athlete’s heart, which develops rarely, is a typical finding in endurance athletes. This condition is characterized by physiological, harmonically eccentric hypertrophy of all cardiac chambers. The athlete’s ECG can be used to distinguish physiological, training-related changes from pathological training-unrelated changes. The athlete’s heart function is normal at rest and increases appropriately during exercise. The cardiac markers troponin and B-type natriuretic peptide are within the normal range in healthy athletes at rest, but can temporarily be mildly elevated after exhausting endurance-exercise, without evidence of myocardial damage. The epidemiological data suggest that participation in competitive sports increases life expectancy.

Conclusion

Competitive exercise does not induce cardiac damage in individuals with healthy hearts, but does induce physiological functional and structural cardiac adaptations which have positive effects on life expectancy.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3561756/

Endurance Vs. Sprinting.

You tell me which looks healthier.

Concussions more likely in AFL
May 10, 2013, 8:30 p.m.

MORE Australian Rules Football players are suffering concussions than in any other sport in Victoria, according to new research by University of Ballarat.

In a study headed by Professor Caroline Finch, it was revealed that AFL had the highest concussion rates for players over the age of 15, with cycling, motorsports, equestrian and soccer rounding out the top five sports.

According to hospital data that had been compiled from 4745 hospitalisations, the amount of sport-related concussions rose far sharper than sport participation.

Professor Finch said the constantly increasing amount of sports-related concussions showed head protection needed to become a higher health priority for players in Australia.

“These findings, along with high levels of public concern, make prevention of head injury in sport a population health priority in Australia,” Professor Finch said.

“While only relating directly to one state, our data clearly demonstrate that sport-related concussion is a significant and increasing public health burden.”

The data showed there were 1142 incidents of concussion that led to player hospitalisation per year.

The increase over nine years was by 8.2 per cent for AFL, 62 per cent for cycling and 4.6 per cent for motor sports.

The highest rate of increase was 424.8 per cent by roller sports.

Cricket was the only sport to show a decrease, down 31.8 per cent.

Professor Finch said the research showed concussion was not only having an increasing impact on the individuals involved, but society as a whole.

“Over 2002-03 to 2010-11, 4745 people aged 15-plus years were hospitalised for concussion in Victoria and this cost the community over $18 million.”

Professor Finch is the university’s Emeritus Professor Robert HT Smith Personal chair in Healthy and Safe Sport.

Other researchers on the project were Angela Clapperton from Monash University and Paul McCrory from the University of Melbourne.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/1493368/concussions-more-likely-in-afl/?cs=63

Someone needs to fix Joffa bots filters, this thread is about the heart, not the head.

Scientific research has shown that physically attractive people are believed, falsely, to be more trustworthy. Point is, looks don't mean reality. I bet that Usain Bolt would have very poor endurance levels (as measured by VO2) and hence 'unfit'.

"Fit" wasn't the question I asked.

Of course someone that is relatively well rested will look to be in a healthier condition to someone who has just run a marathon. Both would have low fat reserves and be susceptible to catching disease.
Health is relative. If you took a healthy person in Australia and dumped them in the middle of the Serengeti and vice versa I don't think that they would be termed as healthy in the new environment that they are now in.

Actually, it's more to do with the fact that running marathons really isn't good for your health.

Running 100 metres does fuck all too.
Plenty of 5km and 10km Olympians have physiques like pictured. 99.99% of people would dream of having their level of health.

I didn't disagree with that. Quite obviously are car driving 80% capacity for 2+hours is going to have a much greater chance of developing problems than one that drives with accelerator to the floor for 10 seconds. I was just pointing out that your pictures depicted different situations.
I'd like to see pictures of the marathon runner flexing and the sprinter completing the 42nd km.

Edited by chillbilly: 11/5/2013 05:42:16 PM