Physical activity provides a broad range of health benefits that cannot be attained via any other means. Athletes and physically active people tend to enjoy better physical and mental health than their sedentary counterparts as a result of vigorous physical training. Yet despite the benefits of regular training, athletes can still be at risk for cardiac events.
The cardiovascular system is one of the key drivers of peak health and performance. Learn how vigorous exercise affects the heart, common cardiovascular risk factors for athletes, and how athletes can quickly improve heart health through lifestyle and nutrition.
How Vigorous Exercise Affects Cardiovascular Function
Progressive overload is the driving force behind physical adaptation. When you challenge your body’s systems on a regular basis, they adapt by becoming stronger, more efficient, and more resilient. In the cardiovascular system, training adaptations take place in the myocardium itself, and in the vascular structures that transport blood to and from the heart. Consistent training enhances the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the cells for energy production, and facilitates the removal of metabolic waste.
Myocardial adaptations
The myocardium is the muscular tissue of the heart. Myocardial adaptations to progressive overload include:
- Increased stroke volume – the total volume per beat of oxygenated blood released into circulation from the left ventricle
- Increased cardiac output – stroke volume x beats per minute = cardiac output
- Increased hemoglobin production – the oxygen-carrying protein that attaches to red blood cells
- Increased aerobic enzymes – biological catalysts that facilitate chemical reactions in the body, such as NAD that supports mitochondrial energy production
- Increased capillary density in muscles – capillaries are tiny blood vessels that transport blood, nutrients and oxygen into muscle cells
- Increased heart muscle wall size and strength, especially in the left ventricle
- Increased left and right ventricular chamber size (volume)
Vascular adaptations
The aorta and arteries are responsible for carrying oxygenated blood from the heart’s left ventricle to cells throughout the body. Healthy arteries are smooth and elastic, with the ability to constrict and dilate in response to cellular demands. For example, exercising after a meal can cause the arteries feeding the digestive system to constrict, diverting blood to dilated arteries feeding the muscle cells.
Regular demand placed on muscle cells during vigorous physical activity causes arterial adaptations that enhance their circulatory capabilities, including:
- Enhanced artery lumen diameter – the tubular space within arteries
- Decreased arterial wall thickness, making arteries more compliant
- Increased artery contractile strength
- Improved arterial dilatation and constriction
- Increased production of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase – a key enzyme that helps to dilate blood vessels, increase blood supply, and lower blood pressure
- Improved arterial mitochondrial respiration – the exchange of O2 and CO2 during energy production
- Enhanced arterial reduction oxidation (redox) balance – a protective mechanism against cellular aging and disease
Put in simple terms, a healthy cardiovascular system is foundational to cellular health and energy production. Optimizing cardiovascular health can provide a competitive edge for athletes. However, exercise alone is not enough to ensure cardiovascular health – athletes also need to pay attention to factors like nutrition, sleep, and exposure to environmental toxins
Risk Factors for Heart Conditions in Athletes
While athletes in general enjoy robust heart health, certain factors can increase the risk of cardiovascular conditions and events,
Cardiovascular risk factors that affect athletes can include:
- Genetic predisposition to heart disease, such as coronary artery disease or hypertension
- Non-cardiac diseases like diabetes can cause heart-related complications
- Advanced age
- Male sex
- Chronic stress
- Viral infection
- Dehydration and low electrolyte levels
- Consumption of performance enhancing substances
Myocarditis is an inflammatory condition of the heart muscle, commonly caused in athletes by viral infections, environmental toxins and medications. Sudden cardiac death is strongly associated with myocarditis due to impaired function of inflamed heart tissue. Athletes world-wide saw a sharp uptick in myocarditis and sudden cardiac death during the COVID pandemic, and subsequent to MRNA vaccination.
Hypertension may arise in athletes with high amounts of muscle mass, and older athletes may develop hypertension and accumulate arterial plaque, despite regular exercise. According to one source, athletic middle-aged and older adults who do regular endurance training tend to have more elastic and compliant arteries than their anaerobic counterparts who do mostly high intensity resistance training.
Changes Athletes Can Make Today to Quickly Improve Heart Health
Cardiovascular health can dramatically impact athletic performance, and elite athletes should pay close attention to lifestyle factors that support a healthy heart:
- Practice good sleep hygiene by consistently going to bed at the same time and sleeping at least 7-9 hours per night
- Allow for ample recovery time between exercise bouts to give tissues time to detoxify and self-repair
- Stay well hydrated with electrolyte-enhanced water, especially during hot and humid weather
- Avoid drugs and alcohol
- Eat a diet rich in high-quality animal protein and organic produce
- Avoid sugars, grains and highly processed foods
Nutrient supplements can help to ensure your cells get all the nutrients they need to function at their best. Antioxidants like vitamin C and glutathione can help protect cells from oxidative stress. Hydration therapy via IV infusion can help quickly rehydrate your body and replenish electrolytes that keep your heart beating. Amino acids give your cells the building blocks they need to self-repair, and nicotinamide (NAD) supports healthy cellular mitochondria.
Plaquex IV therapy can help to prevent heart disease by eliminating the buildup of plaque on the arterial walls. Plaque accumulation makes arteries stiff and inelastic, preventing them from dilating and constricting, while at the same time narrowing the arterial space and restricting blood flow. Plaque buildup can eventually block an artery, preventing oxygen transport to the and leading to a heart attack. Plaquex infusion therapy has been shown to completely reverse coronary artery disease and restore arterial health.
Optimize Performance and Prevent Heart Disease with Invita Wellness
Optimal health and peak performance begin at the cellular level. Providing your cells with the nutrients they need to function at their best can give you the competitive edge you need to stay in the winner’s circle. At Invita Wellness, we offer a wide range of products and services designed to promote health, wellness and longevity.
In addition to Plaquex IV therapy, athletes can benefit from whole body and focal cryotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), NAD+ IV therapy, and a host of nutrient injection and infusion therapies that promote cellular health. Contact Invita Wellness today and give your heart the nutrients it needs to keep you performing at the top of your game!
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Resources
Karagounis, Panagiotis, et al. “Exercise-induced arterial adaptations in elite judo athletes.” Journal of sports science & medicine 8.3 (2009): 428.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3763289/
Mratbaevna, Worazbaeva Naubaxor, and Shernazarov Farrux. “The Structure of the Heart and its Physiology in Regular Athletes.” ACADEMICIA: An International Multidisciplinary Research Journal 13.8 (2023): 41-46.
https://saarj.com/wp-content/uploads/paper/ACADEMICIA/2023/FULL-PDF/
Palermi, Stefano, et al. “Athlete’s heart: a cardiovascular step-by-step multimodality approach.” Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine 24.5 (2023).
The Structure of the Heart and its Physiology in Regular Athletes
Sun, Hualing, Yanyan Zhang, and Lijun Shi. “Advances in exercise-induced vascular adaptation: mechanisms, models, and methods.” Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 12 (2024): 1370234.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/
