Heart Conditions

[lee92 2]

I'm doing a presentation in one of my courses on chronic heart failure, and the effects exercise can have on it in either preventing or assisting. I'm trying to think up cases specific to athletes who have documented cases relating to heart failure. I was looking towards hockey players, but will be open to other sports as well. So far I've come up with Jiri Fisher, Alexei Cherapanov, and Sergei Zholtok. If you have any other names of athletes that have fallen to this condition I'd appreciate knowing, as well as any information. A portion of the presentation is geared towards old-timers hockey, where this condition is becoming common since in most cases these old athletes fail to warm up, smoke, drink, and then physically exert themselves, all leading to risks of chronic heart failure. May be of interest to some out there. Thank you for any help.

[chippa13 1844]

Teppo Numinen had heart surgery a couple of summers back and I believe Teddy Bruschi's stroke was brought on by a tiny hole in his heart. If your report isn't due for a couple of months then I could be a regular Joe who could have been felled by coronary artery disease (blocked artery) but, should all go well during a stress test the first week of March, returned to the beer leagues.

[greech 4]

Another regular-joe here. Tedy Bruschi hole for me, but luckily it's probably not going to rear it's ugly head.

[foppa21 0]

What exactly do you mean by chronic heart failure? That's a vague term that could encompass many different things. Congestive heart failure is the condition that comes to mind first, and that doesn't really encompass any of the cases you mentioned. Zholtok's case involved hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which, particularly in treatment, is quite different from congestive heart failure. His exercise intensity as a professional athlete contributed greatly to his death because of his HCM condition. Cherepanov's death if I am recalling correctly was, in part, linked to a chronic myocarditis which can definitely lower your ejection fraction. From what I recall of Fischer, his case was more of an isolated occurrence of an arrhythmia. I don't know if it was ever linked to HCM or something else.

On the exercise question, there's been a study from one of the medical journals floating around at work that shows patients with congestive heart failure benefit more from vigorous exercise than exercise of low intensity. I'm back Monday and Tuesday nights and I'll see if I can find it for you.

[chippa13 1844]

Forgot that part, I have been diagnosed with HCM. That is the reason why I need the stress test in order to be cleared for beer league. I will be undergoing an echocardiogram with my stress test. The hope is that my HCM was the result of high blood pressure and the 99% blockage in an artery and that it has reduced a smidge with the stent and bp meds.

[foppa21 0]

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