Saturday, March 16, 2024

Why Do Soccer Players Have Heart Attacks

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Measuring Your Resting Heart Rate

Why do athletes have heart attacks?

The American Heart Association recommends that you check your resting heart rate first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. For best results, choose a morning when you wake up naturally since many of us are startled by the sound of the alarm. If that isnt possible, try relaxing for a few minutes before you take your resting heart rate.

If you took your resting heart rate each morning, you would find that some mornings it is higher and others lower. This will vary depending on whether you are fighting illness, slept well, and where your hormonal cycle is that day . Many of the same things that affect Heart Rate Variability also may change your resting heart rate.

Please note, the information in this post is not a substitute for medical or professional advice. It is simply general information.

More Young Footballers Dying Of Heart Problems Than Thought Fa Study Finds

FA increases number of screenings for youth players after study finds several players died of heart problems not spotted by tests

Young footballers are dying from heart problems at a higher rate than was previously thought, according to doctors who oversee the cardiac screening programme for the Football Association.

Their evaluation of 20 years of screening young footballers at the age of 16 who are on the verge of a professional career also shows that most died about seven years after a heart check that showed no problem.

In the light of the findings, the FA has increased the number of cardiac assessments that young footballers are given from one to three, at the ages of 16, 18 and 20.

There have been a number of shocking deaths among young football stars, including that of Cameroonian international , 28, who played in the Premier League. The midfielder collapsed while playing for his country against Colombia in France during the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. An autopsy found he had a hereditary heart condition.

In 2012, Bolton Wanderers star Fabrice Muamba, 23, had a cardiac arrest on the pitch during an FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur and nearly died.

The occasional such tragedy among football players led the FA in 1997 to set up the screening programme. The tests are part of a fitness assessment that is mandatory for all academy soccer players aged 16 or 17 before they sign a professional contract. The programme now has 20 years of comprehensive data.

Three Moms A Teacher Fight Back

The moms of Jake, Zac and Mark are not going to sit back. Had AEDs been on hand, had they been aware of the signs and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest, had they known the rules on heart screenings, their sons might be alive.

They are on a mission to change that for others. “We were two voices, three voices, then four voices,” said Teresa. “Four voices are better than just our own.”

That fourth voice is Tonya Aerts, a biomedical teacher at Mark’s school, New Prairie. She said the school and community were devastated by Mark’s death and she set out to do something about it.

The four women have been advocating for and offering CPR training, pushing for working AEDs in all places sports are played or practiced and educating students, parents and coaches about the signs and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest.

After Mark’s death, when they went to look for an AED at New Prairie, they found it with dead batteries, under popcorn by the microwave, locked inside the concession stand.

With Aerts pushing, New Prairie recently became the state’s first Heart Safe School through Project Adam, which helps to implement a plan at schools to respond to a sudden cardiac arrest.

As important as having AEDs on hand and CPR training is the response, said Kean, who is leading the Indiana affiliate of Project Adam.

It’s crucial. The best chance for an athlete to survive a sudden cardiac arrest is when bystanders respond not when EMS gets to the scene.

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What Do Soccer Players Wear Around Their Chest

As Ive described, the bra-like clothing that male soccer players wear is not actually a bra but rather a GPS tracking device.

Lets go into a little bit more detail about them.

It may look like a sports bra, but in reality, the vest soccer players wear is fitted with cutting-edge technology. This technology is used to monitor every detail of a players performance while training and during games. To assess a players performance is the main reason soccer players wear this vest.

The athletic vest helps the head coach and coaching staff track a players performance in training accurately.

It removes the guesswork that coaches relied on in the past and gives clear and accurate data. Although players mostly use these vests on the training field, you will sometimes see players wearing them during a soccer game.

Causes Of Death In Athletes

Why do even sports persons get heart attack?

It has been widely acknowledged that exercise is an effective tool for improving health. Exercise has been strongly associated with beneficial changes in cardiovascular risk factor including blood pressure, lipids, insulin sensitivity and body weight. Numerous studies have consistently shown an association between moderate aerobic exercise and decreased risk of coronary heart disease . Although the health benefits to exercise are well-documented, patients diagnosed with cardiac conditions who engage in exercise and athletic competitions may on rare occasion experience sudden cardiac death.

Sudden cardiac death is the most common medical cause of death in athletes, with an incidence of approximately 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 300,000 athletes per year according to the most recent estimates in these recent 10-20 years. The risks and causes of sudden cardiac death vary based primarily upon the athlete population. Although rare, sudden cardiac death in the athlete is a traumatic event that has a large impact on society. Sudden cardiac death in the young has a devastating consequence on families, care providers and the community. Sudden cardiac death is a tragedy at any age and under any circumstances but is perhaps most tragic when it claims the life of the athlete, the individual who epitomizes health and a healthy lifestyle.

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Are An Alarming Number Of Athletes Dropping Dead After Getting The Covid Jab

Inbound from a reader, we have a list of links to cases of athletes who just dropped dead. All of them are recent. And the number of them seems excessive, all from heart-related complications.

This list has been Google Translated into English from here. The links are presented as-is. The point of this is to crowdsource these claims if possible. Why do we see a rise in these sorts of mortality? Is it a rise?

How many are there in the US and can we run those down .

Is any of it truly vaccine-related?

The list source is asking that very question.

We took a long time for this research, selecting each case individually. Was there a noticeably high number of sudden and unexpected deaths in sport and top-class sport until mid-2021? No official can explain a possible accumulation since the start of gene vaccinations. According to the possibly blackmailed and bribed media and politics, these are unfortunate coincidences although already 13-year-olds with heart problems fall over on the square.

Google Translate, sorry.

The first few I looked at made no mention of their status as vaccinated for COVID but there are a lot of athletes in all levels of competition dropping dead with heart-related ailments if this list is accurate.

It also means there are more and we should make some effort to source those incidents and report them. If they are vaccine-related people deserve to know the risk.

Note: dates appear mixed but they are all June to October 2021.

Emergency Testing For A Heart Attack

After you call 911 for a heart attack, paramedics will quickly assess your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate. They also will place electrodes on your chest for an electrocardiogram to check your hearts electrical activity.

When you arrive at the hospital, the emergency room doctor will take your history and do a physical examination, and a more complete ECG will be done. A technician will draw blood to test for cardiac enzymes, which are released into the bloodstream when heart cells die.

If your tests show that you are at risk of having or are having a heart attack, your doctor will probably recommend that you have cardiac catheterization. The doctor can then see whether your coronary arteries are blocked and how your heart functions.

If an artery appears blocked, angioplastyâa procedure to open up clogged arteriesâmay be done during the catheterization. Or you will be referred to a cardiovascular surgeon for coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Some treatments and tests, such as cardiac catheterization, may be available only at regional medical centres. The tests and treatment your doctor chooses may depend on how close you are to a regional centre and the time it would take to transport you to the centre for treatment.

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Jake: ‘he Had My Heart Always’

Jake died of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy , a disease of the heart muscle. When fatty, fibrous tissue replaces normal heart muscle, this interrupts normal electrical signals in the heart and may cause irregular and potentially life-threatening heart rhythms.

Jake was one of two children, the baby brother to older sister Courtney. Growing up, he was always involved with sports, always outside playing with his friends.

“So as a mother you think, ‘Kids are outside playing, they’re healthy, you want them exercising,'” said Julie.

Jake played varsity football and lacrosse. He made goofy videos with friends. He was hilarious, his mom said, and could light up any room. He was also a bit of a momma’s boy, often writing little notes to Julie.

“I tell you, he had my heart always,” she said. “He just was a little protector.”

After Jake died, Julie asked for an autopsy.

“That just kind of makes you sick to think about that. He’s 17,” she said. “But I thought, ‘Well, I need to know. There’s got to be something, something that we obviously did not catch.'”

When the autopsy came back that Jake had ARVC, an undetected heart condition, Julie was in shock.

“He made it through every physical, never a sign or symptom,” she said. “Never in a million years would I think anything was wrong with his heart.”

When Jake collapsed an AED, or automated external defibrillator, wasn’t on the field it was in the coach’s office. An AED could possibly have saved Jake’s life.

Study Reveals More Footballers Are Suffering From Heart Problems Is It Time For More Screening

Christian Eriksen Sudden Cardiac Arrest – WHY? (Do Athletes have Heart Attacks)

Posted by Richard Coleman, Partner

Every week 12 young people die from sudden cardiac death. Is it time to start screening young adults for potential cardiac issues more often?

Sudden deaths in footballers are more common than we previously believed and despite screening, cardiac conditions are still the leading cause of death in footballers. There are increasing calls made by some doctors and bereaved families for regular cardiac testing for footballers.

In recent times there have been a number of high profile deaths including Marc-Vivien Foe aged 28 and former England defender Ugo Ehiogu, who died, aged 44. However, possibly the most well-known case of a sudden cardiac arrest is that of Fabrice Muamba who collapsed whilst playing for Bolton Wanderers. Thankfully, due to the actions of staff and a doctor at the stadium, he managed to pull through.

But why does this happen? Sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes is mostly caused by a number of factors, with the most common being:

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy an inherited condition where the heart muscle walls become thick. The thickened muscle can then affect the hearts electrical system, leading to fast or irregular heartbeats which can lead to sudden death.

Coronary artery abnormalities sometimes people are born with coronary arteries that are connected abnormally. These arteries then become compressed during exercise and do not provide proper blood flow to the heart muscle, leading to sudden death.

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What Is The Cause Of So Many Cardiac Related Deaths In Football/soccer

It was recently brought to my attention that a number of football/soccer players have either died on the field or have collapsed on the field only to die later in a hospital from cardiac related ailments.

According to Wikipedia: From 1984 – Present, there have been approximately 60 deaths where a player has collapsed and/or died either during a game or during a practice session.

I have attempted to research this more, but all I am noticing are theories rather than facts.

This seems to be a concern of many, including Andy Paschalidis, former SBS announcer and a player for the Forest Rangers Football Club. Mr. Paschalidis is supporting a campaign to have defibrillators available at all football games.

I understand that football/soccer players outnumber other athletes in professional sports. This should not diminish the fact that this issue has raised several concerns regarding football/soccer players deaths/collapses on the playing field.

Is there a valid and substantiated reason why this is happening to these athletes in this particular sport?

I think it’s simply not the case that soccer players die of cardiac issues more than other sports. Quoting from this New York Daily News article:

Researchers from the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research studied 243 football deaths recorded between July 1990 and June 2010. One hundred of the fatalities resulted from an underlying heart condition.

This is just a long comment.

Young People Die Every Week

Around 12 young people die every week in the UK from an undiagnosed heart condition, explains Dr Siong Ng: “A significant proportion of these are due to inherited cardiac conditions such as cardiomyopathies or channelopathies , which are undiagnosed at the time of cardiac arrest.

Other causes include inflammation of the heart and a heart attack due to a blocked artery .”

Dr Ng, who inserts implantable defibrillators into heart patients, adds that testing close relatives of an individual can help identify others at risk: “Screening of close relatives, using heart ultrasound and electrical heart tracing can help to identify some, but not all, individuals at potential risk.

There is still a need for further research to try to improve our understanding of the causes of sudden cardiac death and to allow us to better predict who is at riskDr Zachary WhinnettImperials National Heart and Lung Institute

“However, even if someone has been diagnosed with an inherited cardiac conditions, it is very difficult to predict an individuals risk of developing cardiac arrest in the future. This is a real challenge and is the subject of research by many groups around the world, including our own group here at Imperial.”

Dr Whinnett adds that Imperial is investigating the causes behind sudden cardiac death: There is still a need for further research to try to improve our understanding of the causes of sudden cardiac death and to allow us to better predict who is at risk.

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Soccer And Sudden Cardiac Death In Young Competitive Athletes: A Review

John P. Higgins

1Exercise Physiology, Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Institute, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin, Houston, TX 77030, USA

2Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, UT Annex-Room 104, 5656 Kelley Street Houston, TX 77026, USA

3The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin, Houston, TX 77030, USA

Abstract

Sudden cardiac death in young competitive athletes is a tragic event that has been brought to public attention in the past few decades. The incidence of SCD is reported to be 1-2/100,000 per year, with athletes at a 2.5 times higher risk. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, played by people of all ages. However, unfortunately it is cardiovascular diseases such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy that have subtly missed screening and claimed the lives of soccer stars such as Marc Vivien Foe and Antonio Puerta during live action on the field and on an internationally televised stage. This paper covers the physiological demands of soccer and the relationship between soccer and SCD. It also reviews the most common causes of SCD in young athletes, discusses the current guidelines in place by The Fédération Internationale de Football Association for screening among professional soccer players, and the precautions that have been put in place to prevent SCD on the field in professional soccer.

1. Introduction

Sports May Not Worsen All Conditions And We Cant Prevent All Deaths

Why do sports stars collapse in action?

If athletes are passionate about their sports, well exhaust all available testing to help them stay safe while participating. Its rare that we have to help an athlete understand why participation isnt a safe choice, though this outcome does happen.

There are strong data that sports can worsen a few select heart conditions, but those are rare:

  • Polymorphic VT is absolutely triggered by exercise cardiac arrests happen only during exercise.
  • Long QT is triggered by exercise in roughly one-third of cases.
  • Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia appears to be triggered by exercise and athletes with this condition actually can accelerate the disease process by playing sports.

On the flip side, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the more common heart conditions associated with sudden death, but there are no solid data to suggest that sports triggers HCM. Athletes with HCM are probably as likely to die in their sleep as they are on the court or the field. If a high school athlete dies on the playing field, it makes the news. If that same athlete died in his or her sleep, it likely wouldnt.

There are two factors that can increase arrhythmias: acute triggers and long-term effects from worsening of a condition or another underlying disease. To really understand whether sports makes these conditions worse, we need to study more athletes.

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