Top cyclist having ablation today - British Heart Fou...

British Heart Foundation

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Top cyclist having ablation today

Taviterry profile image
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Peter Sagan is undergoing a heart operation today after abnormalities were discovered during arecent mountain bike race in which his heart rate exceeded 200 beats per minute.

The three-time road-race world champion is undergoing an ablation procedure to correct arrhythmias in the heart. Sagan’s representatives describe the procedure as ‘routine’ and 'just a little operation' and predict he’ll be back racing within a month.

Full story here: globalcyclingnetwork.com/ra...

(Early on in my own series of tests a nurse said that she saw quite a few cyclists and rowers with atrial fibrillation.)

EDIT: another website reports thus: "Hello guys, just a brief update. Everything is under control and in just a few days I'll be back on my bike," Sagan said in a post on Instagram. A medical report from the Marche University Hospital said an internal electrophysiological study was carried out and that "a subcutaneous event recorder was implanted which will allow the future monitoring of the athlete."

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Taviterry
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wischo profile image
wischo

It seems that high intensity athletes suffer from this type of problem quite frequently. I read a few reviews where long term athletes hearts get larger which can create endless heart problems as they age. You are damned if you do and damned if you dont from what I can see.

fishonabike profile image
fishonabike

unfortunately heat conditions are not as uncommon as we would like to think in high performance athletes

a university oarsman friend told me decades ago that ventricular hypertrophy was a common complication in later life for oarsmen and other athletes - but most people are completely unaware of the long-term risks of high performance athleticism

as a keen follower of the Tour De France and Sagan's career, i know my husband will be interested to hear about Peter's recent treatment

Taviterry profile image
Taviterry

Update: globalcyclingnetwork.com/ra...

Bluehope81 profile image
Bluehope81

Not medical advice, opinions and suggestions only,

I have written about this before in some of my posts.

1. If you exercise for extended periods above 150 for say more than an hour , everyone is different, so times vary, your heart will begin to emit small amounts of troponin, this means heart muscles cells are dying. Marathons are not good on the body, and deaths are always a concern on the London Marathons.

2. CAC build up in the arteries is accelerated in athletes, high blood pressure and fast heart rates accelerate the plaque growth process, but are also likely to create the tears that start the plaque process.

3. Bodybuilders, those who do squats and similar manoeuvres, due to the shape and geometry of the heart, the pressure and the force concentrates at the bottom of the left ventricle, leading to left ventricular hypertrophy and then on to heart failure, same with Oarsmans.

4. Electrical impulses in the heart are generated from the sick nodes, at the top right and then conduct over the heart in a so called EM envelope, long term inflammation, and wear can affect the sick nodes, as well as not having the right minerals in the heart muscles, electrical impulse issues can also be idiopathic.

5. So what to do?

Exercise is good, it releases nitric oxide into your arteries which can repair the endothelial layer and stop plaque progression. The pumping and increasing of blood pressure is good for keeping the arteries flexible, not to mention all the other benefits of exercise.

I work out 4 to 5 times a week at the gym.

Cardio, have regular breaks, I do 40 minutes on the treadmill and keep my heart around 130 then have a 30 minute break.

then I do 30 minutes of cycling and keep my heart below 140,

then i have a break 20 minutes

and do 30 minutes of weights, use weight machines, and isolate muscles only so that the pressure is not concentrated in the left ventricle, allow 3 minutes break per rep.

Taviterry profile image
Taviterry

Sagan to have second heart operation: cyclingnews.com/news/peter-...

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