In a new study from the University of Sydney, researchers found that almost half of over-35s were not confident in their ability to recognize symptoms of impending cardiac risk—such as a heart attack or sudden cardiac death—while participating in strenuous exercise.
The study is published in The Internal Medicine Journal and was conducted by Professor Geoffrey Tofler et al.
The team assessed the knowledge and confidence in recognizing cardiac symptoms.
They surveyed 153 Masters Age football players aged ≥35 years playing on a scale of competitive to social football games.
Participants exercised or played sport an average of 3.6 days per week, with a weekly average of 2.6 hours of moderate activity and 2.4 hours of vigorous activity.
The team found one in five study participants had one or more possible cardiac symptoms during a game in the prior year, but only a quarter of them sought medical attention.
In a hypothetic scenario of participants having chest pain while playing, around half of them said they would keep playing for five to ten minutes waiting for the symptoms to pass.
Almost half of the participants were unsure whether they would recognize symptoms they might experience during games, such as chest pain, as an indicator of potentially serious cardiac risk.
The need for better cardiac education and knowledge has been emphasized as a key solution to preventing or mitigating cardiac events.
Most of the cohort surveyed agreed that external defibrillators and CPR training were important and should be staples at football fields during all games.
The team says although regular exercise improves health, strenuous exercise causes a transient increase in cardiac risk. Being able to recognize the warning signs of an impending cardiac event is critical to mitigating those risks during exercise.
The risks are elevated when accounting for participants with pre-existing risk factors like hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension, smoker status, weight issues, and family history of heart disease.
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Previous studies have found that strenuous exercise may harm longevity and cause diseases.
A recent study at the Tokyo Institute of Technology found that job-related strenuous exercise throughout life may not necessarily extend longevity.
They found kabuki actors, known for their vigorous movements, surprisingly had shorter lifespans compared with other traditional arts performers who lead mostly sedentary lifestyles.
The study is published in Palgrave Communications. One author is Naoyuki Hayashi.
In that study, the team conducted an unusual study that calls into question the idea that vigorous daily exercise positively correlates with longevity.
They compared the lifespans of four groups of Japanese traditional arts performers by examining data from a total of 699 professional male artists, both living and dead, whose birth and death records are all publicly available.
They hypothesized that kabuki actors would lead longer lives owing to the high-level physical activity involved in their theatrical performances, compared with Sado, Rakugo, and Nagauta practitioners, who are known to perform tea ceremonies, recount comic stories and play musical instruments while sitting, respectively.
They found that contrary to expectations, the lifespan of kabuki actors was shorter than that of the other three types of traditional artists.
The researchers say that one reason for the shorter lifespans of kabuki artists could be that excessive endurance training and physical activity overwhelms the beneficial aspects of regular physical exercise.
Another reason might be that in the past, kabuki actors have often worn oshiroi (white powder used for make-up) containing lead, which carries a significant health risk. The use of oshiroi was only banned in Japan in 1934.
Another study from the University of Sheffield found frequent strenuous exercise increases the risk of developing (MND) in certain people. The findings showed a causal link between exercise and MND.
The lifetime risk of developing MND is approximately 1 in 400. Previous research has reported an estimated six-times increased risk of MND in professional football players compared to the general population.
This study confirms that in some people, frequent strenuous exercise leads to an increase in the risk of MND.
The team examined the link using three different approaches and each indicated that regular strenuous exercise is a risk factor associated with MND.
They found people who have a genetic make-up favoring strenuous physical activity have an increased risk of developing MND. But most people who undertake strenuous exercise do not develop motor neuron injury.
MND, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) as it is also known, is a disorder that affects the nerves—motor neurones—in the brain and spinal cord that form the connection between the nervous system and muscles to enable movement of the body.
The messages from these nerves gradually stop reaching the muscles, leading them to weaken, stiffen and eventually waste. The progressive disease affects a person’s ability to walk, talk, use their arms and hands, eat and breathe.
Approximately 10 percent of MND cases are inherited, but the remaining 90% are caused by complex genetic and environmental interactions which are not well understood—this is known as sporadic MND.
The study has a strong impact on the global research effort to identify which individuals based on their genetics are at risk of MND.
The team hoped that this work will help medical professionals to be able to offer advice to family members of MND patients about the risks so they can make personal decisions about their exercise habits.
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