Intense Exercise Increases Risk of Cardiac Problems

Exercise is good for the heart, but intense exercise, like trying to win a 50-mile cross country skiing race, comes with some disturbing risks to heart health. MedPage Today reports that researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden found that, among elite cross-country endurance skiers, the risk of developing arrhythmias increased by 37 percent when compared with athletes in the same race that skied at a more moderate pace.The Swedes reviewed medical data from the 47,477 people (yes, 47,477) competing in the 54-mile Vasaloppet cross-country skiing race. Sticking with the Scandanavian theme, the calculations of researchers at the University of Norway show a 39 percent increase in the risk of developing atrial fibrillation that requires medical treatment among people who exercise four hours or more during the week. In that study, researchers looked at prescriptions for flecainide, a drug that is only prescribed for atrial fibrillation, in a group of 430,000 people who were divided into four groups: those who were sedentary; those who did moderate exercise, intermediate exercise, and intensive exercise, which translates to hard training or sports competitions several times a week. MedPage reports that, in their presentations at the European Society of Cardiology, the researchers agreed that exercise does more good than harm.

Read more about the two studies in MedPage Today.