On s’en serait douté vu le nombre de mecs qui meurent de problèmes cardiaques. Mais pour ceux qui en doutent encore :
STRONGMEN SPORT IS ASSOCIATED WITH LARGER ABSOLUTE HEART SIZE AND IMPAIRED CARDIAC
RELAXATION
TOMAS VENCKUNAS
J Strength Cond Res 25(10): 2919–2925, 2011—
This study
was carried out to compare cardiac structure and function and
blood lipids among Strongmen, sedentary controls, and
marathoners. Echocardiography was performed, and endothelial
function, blood lipids and maximal oxygen uptake were
measured in 27 Caucasian adult men (8 Strongmen, 10
marathoners, 9 controls). Absolute cardiac size parameters
such as left ventricular (LV) diameter and wall thickness of
Strongmen were higher (p , 0.05), but relative (body surface
area indexed) parameters were not different between controls
and Strongmen. In Strongmen, the relative LV diameter (p ,
0.05), wall thickness (p,0.001), and LV mass index (p,0.01)
were lower than in marathoners. The absolute but not relative
right ventricular diameter was larger in Strongmen as compared
with controls, whereas all of the measured relative cardiac size
parameters were higher in marathoners as opposed to in
controls. The endothelial function and the ratio of wall thickness
to chamber diameter were similar among the groups (p .0.05).
Maximal oxygen uptake of Strongmen was lower than in
controls (p , 0.05) and marathoners (p , 0.001). Global
diastolic LV function of Strongmen was impaired in comparison
to controls (p , 0.05) and marathoners (p , 0.05). Plasma
lipids were not different between Strongmen and sedentary
controls, but in comparison to runners, Strongmen had higher
low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (p , 0.05) and lower highdensity
lipoprotein cholesterol (p , 0.01). Participation in
Strongmen sport is associated with higher absolute but not
relative cardiac size parameters, impaired myocardial relaxation,
and low cardiorespiratory fitness. Therefore, Strongmen may
demand greater attention as an extreme group of athletes with
regard to cardiovascular risk.
INTRODUCTION
During endurance running, the heart has to adapt
to both increased volume and pressure load (20).
Long distance runners tend to have an increase
in both the left ventricular (LV) diameter and LV
wall thickness, that is, develop eccentric hypertrophy (11),
also called a symmetric remodeling of the myocardium (6). In
contrast to pathological forms, cardiac hypertrophy because
of endurance training is not associated with impaired LV
function (22) and even a positive relationship between LV
hypertrophy and diastolic function has been reported in
endurance-trained individuals (16).
During heavy strength and power training, hemodynamic
loading conditions differ from those induced by endurance
training and are characterized by marked overshoots of
arterial blood pressure (18). Strength and power training
likely has little or no effect on the size LV diameter (2),
although evidence of strength training effects on cardiac wall
hypertrophy is less consistent. Some studies report unchanged
LV wall thickness (21) and others present thickened
LV wall (2,4).
The evidence on LV function of strength/power athletes is
also contradictory with some (2) but not all studies (4,25)
reporting deteriorated diastolic function. Most of the evidence
on the cardiac parameters of strength/power athletes has been
obtained from bodybuilders or power lifters (2,4).
Strongmen sport is quite a unique and popular non-
Olympic ‘‘pure strength’’ sport where athletes are not
restricted to body weight categories and implied to have
the greatest absolute strength among humans; also, because
they are not strictly persecuted by WADA, the anabolic
steroid or other banned substance usage among them is
believed to be widespread and intense. In addition, anecdotal
evidence about the avoidance of the aerobic exercise and
copious amounts of usually not very healthy foods consumed
may lead one to think of the lifestyle of Strongmen as not
really healthy and thus warrants to consider them as a group
of athletic individuals with increased risk for cardiovascular
disease and other health problems.
Also, Strongmen with their Herculean strength conduct
extremely arduous exercises such as lifting, holding, carrying
(hundreds of kilograms), pulling, and pushing (tons) during
training and competitions, and such tasks trigger a pronounced
cardiac pressure overload and, when conducted
over an extended period of time, might be expected to impact
cardiac size and function to a greater extent than participation
in other types of resistance sport.
As Strongmen’s cardiovascular fitness and health are not
better and some aspects of it seem to be deteriorated as
compared not only to endurance runners but also to
sedentary, athletes who are seriously engaged in Strongman
sport may demand greater attention as an extreme group of
athletic individuals with regard to cardiovascular disease risk.
The recommendations may include cardiovascular disease
risk follow-up on a regular basis, a modification of lifestyle
such as changes in diet and its supplementation consumed,
and inclusion in the daily regimen at least small amounts
of endurance training, especially during off-season or when
the sport career is over.
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