“So in regards to the thickening of the heart walls and exercise, it is permanent and not reversible even if exercise stops”
Not from what I have read:
“Athletic Heart Syndrome”:
http://www.ahealthyme.com/sites/cdma/cat_illsandcond.gif
" If you really want a “normal” heart again, all you have to do is stop exercising. Soon, your heart, along with the rest of your body, will sag back into its former shape."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_heart_syndrome
“80% of people affected by this syndrome show a decrease in such structural changes and in bradycardia with detraining”
http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec01/ch006/ch006b.html
“When an athlete stops training, the athletic heart syndrome slowly disappears—that is, heart size and heart rate tend to return gradually to those of the nonathlete”
After re-reading the article by Yuri V. Verkoshansky, it seems he is talking more about thickening of arteries and constriction and a weakening of the heart…I don’t see anything about thickening of the heart walls and ventricals…and I did LOTS of searchs and this is the only reference of this type of condition.
In all my searches, I could not find any other reference to this condition, so I’m not sure about it’s validity…anyone have other medical references, and that more clearly define it as a medical condition?
“In cyclic sports disciplines, combat sports and games, a premature intensification
of high velocity work causes asthenic reactions — unproductive reactions that are
meant to protect the organism from abrupt changes of the acid-base balance.
Premature work loads requiring considerable anaerobic energy, applied to athletes
who are not adequately prepared for this type of work, cause an excessive load on
the cardiac function and a thickening of the artery walls, which delay the
development of peripheral circulation and hinder cardiac activity itself. These
factors may, in turn, cause a myocardial dystrophy.”
So, it does appear that there are at least, 2 seperate conditions:
1.) Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Which is bad, and can cause sudden death syndrome, believed to be genetic.
2.) Athletic Heart Syndrome: Not bad, is good for athletics, and will reduce to normal when athletics subside.
I believe this to be a very important subject, and hopefully, those “in the know” can chime in?
Rick