Athletes, take care of the vessels
Excessive love of sports is associated with the risk of developing heart disease
Anna Kerman, XX2 century
Too long and frequent workouts can lead to death, scientists report. White men who exercise 7.5 or more hours a week are approximately twice as likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases than those who observe moderation when making a training schedule.
Researchers from Chicago compared observational data over a 25-year period and came to an unexpected conclusion. It turned out that white men who train too actively have an 86% increased risk of coronary artery blockage in middle age. However, this observation does not apply to black men.
Presumably, excessive loads eventually affect the arteries in such a way that the calcification process begins to go more actively. A group of scientists from the University of Illinois at Chicago (University of Illinois at Chicago) together with colleagues from the Kaiser Permanente medical consortium studied the activity graphs of 3175 white and black men who took part in a long-term study of CARDIA. The main purpose of the work was to search for signs of calcification of the coronary arteries, a known risk factor for heart disease. Patients who have such signs are in need of special prevention.
The study that formed the basis of the new work was long-term: the participants were monitored for 25 years. At the time of entry into the work, the volunteers were from 18 to 30, at the time of completion of the observation – from 43 to 55 years old.
Deepila Laddu, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy at the College of Applied Health Sciences University of Illinois, tells: "We expected that higher levels of physical activity would be associated with lower calcification rates."
However, as a result of the analysis, scientists found out that everything is not so clear. The researchers found a higher risk of calcification in the most actively trained white men, while no such pattern was found for blacks.
The scientists divided all the members of the sample into three groups. The volunteers from the first group trained less than indicated in the national guidelines (that is, less than 150 minutes per week). On the contrary, the members of the third group devoted 450 or more minutes a week to sports, also ignoring the recommendations of experts. On average, the risk of calcification in adulthood in the third group was 27% higher than in the first.
When the researchers analyzed the same data, but taking into account the gender and race of the volunteers, it turned out that white men who actively trained were in the highest risk group. A similar trend was also detected in white women, but the difference between the participants from the first and third groups did not reach statistically significant values.
Laddu adds: "Since the results of the work demonstrated significant differences between representatives of the white race and black volunteers [...], the data indicate the need for additional research that takes into account race. It is also necessary to study other biological mechanisms that lead to calcification of the arteries in actively exercising people."
However, the researchers stressed, "this does not mean that anyone should give up sports."
The results of the study are published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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