What causes heart attacks among cyclists

[V12man]

I'm sure I read a doctor on the hub telling us not to run/ride after taking anti inflammatory tablets.

If I remember correctly he was saying numerous people who had a heart attack at the comrades was due to this.

That would be me - cause of death post anti inflammatory use is generally kidney failure not heart attack.

 

Inadequate preparation combined with genetics is in my opinion the primary cause of heart attacks in mass participation events.

[Tristand]

inclusion of stuff like Flugon in the race pack doesn't help. Masking the symptoms doesn't solve the problem. Frankly, i think its irresponsible marketeering to put that sort of thing in an endurance event race pack.

I don't think it even does that.

 

After looking at the ingredients, while in the depths of a flu infestation, I came to the conclusion that any improvements in symptoms are from the placebo effect.  Tensopyn, now we are talking.

[Andreas_187]

That would be me - cause of death post anti inflammatory use is generally kidney failure not heart attack.

 

Inadequate preparation combined with genetics is in my opinion the primary cause of heart attacks in mass participation events.

Ahhhh, ok. I didn't remember correctly but at least I remembered it was bad. Great advice, the layman just doesn't know this stuff... heck, I just found out its bad to ride with a cold

[Help.Me.]

Regular long-term endurance sports training may increase

the risk for atrial flutter (AFl) and atrial fibrillation (AF).

▸ AF in athletes is initially paroxysmal, and most episodes

have a vagal origin.

▸ Atrial ectopic beats, inflammatory changes, atrial

enlargement with dilatation and fibrosis and increased vagal

tone have been proposed as potential mechanisms for AF

and AFl development in endurance athletes.

▸ The outcome of CPVA for AF in endurance athletes seems

to be no different than in other patients.

 

Ok this i copied from the pdf link in the ablation thread. Now for the medical okes like Talus , v12 etc. Can AV leads to cardiac arrest? ( i am still researhing all this and i hvae only google to help me) i personally think "we/the uninformed" will easy say heart attack but i think there are much more contributing factors that is not known to us the general man on the street. Example i am a fairly fit weekend warrior , last Thursday while in bed reading the hub , my heart stopped beating, fortunatly for my defibrilator it revived me. I went to the heart unit in pe was put on all sorts of machine, and nothing out of the ordinary was picked up. Heart was fine again etc etc. The same happened in 2011 Febr, i was fortunate enough for my heart to correct itself the reason for me still being alive. Now in January i was "diagnosed" with affibrilation where the top chambers of the heart stop pumping bluid. So i doubt that every time some one passes on that it is a heart attack.....thanks for technology that i am still alive today.

[HuckNorris]

In reply to the OP 

 

Here is my story....

 

May 2017

 

I had been bitten by the mountain bike bug in a bad way, and have been riding every given opportunity for around 6 months prior to this . On the 20 of May I set off to do what was about a 40 km ride out on the northern farm trail.

 

About half way into the ride, I had a good fall off a gum pole obstacle, and I felt nauseous and had heartburn and my lungs were sore. Anyhow as the saying goes, swallow a teaspoon of cement and toughen the F### up. Took another hour and a half to complete the ride. 

 

Got home around 3 in the afternoon, had a shower and feeling feverish tried to sleep but could not shake the heartburn and the pain in my lungs. Around 4; 30 I had the proper heart attack. (Who Knew?) I had been told... It’s a pain down your left arm, not anything like I had felt.

 

Thankfully my family was around and between them, and the Paramedics and the ICU staff at Pine haven Net Care, Dr Rob Routier and his team at Olivedale Net Care, I was watching them(on 3 big screen tv,s) repair me through an artery in my groin.

 

All I want to is to try and help someone else that may misread the signs.

Dont be a typical hero , your body will tell you something is wrong , just dont ignore it the way i did .

 

Prior to this, I had a resting Heart rate in the mid-60, s normal blood pressure and cholesterol, and did not smoke.

 

So please, take care, just don’t ignore the signs when your body is saying something is wrong.

 

See you on the bike!!!!

[CAAD4]

Apparently the rider who passed away from a heart attack was 69.

"Strek!" Sjoe waar Val U uit Sammajoor???

[Job]

Nobody knows your body better than yourself. I always suffer from flu like symptoms from Feb until around June. I only get better if I ride my bike at a HR zone 1 for 30-45 min. If I just sleep and walk around taking flu medicine it never goes away.

[s14phoenix]

once had a scare when going out for training - I felt fine until I got on the bike and started warming up - HR went to 170 and climbing with easy pedalling so I immediately turned back and went home really taking it easy... Turned out to be an infection and then went to flu directly after.

 

When you don't have a HR monitor how would you know until it is too late or you feel REALLY bad 50km from home and help is perhaps far away? I would not risk a ride without a HR monitor.

[porqui]

Nobody knows your body better than yourself. I always suffer from flu like symptoms from Feb until around June. I only get better if I ride my bike at a HR zone 1 for 30-45 min. If I just sleep and walk around taking flu medicine it never goes away.

 

I would go and see a doc if I were you and have it checked out.

 

Riding with flu - bad idea no matter what zone.

 

You may know your body but do you listen and apply correct action?

[The Ghost]

I must be honest, sometimes in the search for improvement I have recently pushed the pump a little.

[Tristand]

Nobody knows your body better than yourself. I always suffer from flu like symptoms from Feb until around June. I only get better if I ride my bike at a HR zone 1 for 30-45 min. If I just sleep and walk around taking flu medicine it never goes away.

It is called hay fever 

[s14phoenix]

It is called hay fever 

 

I was told by my GP who also cycles that I can take a antihistamine daily during those times of the year. It is generally for 30-60days during the seasonal changes... like now mine has started again.

 

Was given a tablets with Desloratadine

 

Think I need to pay a visit and get the usual tests done also.

[Bateleur1]

Apparently the rider who passed away from a heart attack was 69. 

 

Off Topic ...

 

"Waar bliksem jy vandaan uit?". Long time no hear/read.

[Job]

I was told by my GP who also cycles that I can take a antihistamine daily during those times of the year. It is generally for 30-60days during the seasonal changes... like now mine has started again.

 

Think I need to pay a visit and get the usual tests done also.

Same here... it lasts for +-60 days, some days you feel better than others.When this thing started last year I went to doctors but they couldnt help. I also went to my GP about weeks ago but it made no difference. I am just riding it away at zone 1 every other day. Nobody really knows the source, preventative and cures for some of these sicknesses... for some people I guess they need to stop cycling when sick but for me low efforts help. 

[SwissVan]

Off Topic ...

 

"Waar bliksem jy vandaan uit?". Long time no hear/read.

Haha My thoughts exactly

Welcome back samajoor

[V12man]

. Can AV leads to cardiac arrest?

If you mean AF - Atrial Fibrillation - then the answer is yes

 

There are 2 fundamental types of "Heart attack" (in laymans explanation)

 

1 - Blockage of a coronary artery for some reason - and there are multiple (plaque buildup, clot in the artery (sometimes from external to the heart, sometimes internal origin etc) - depending on severity of the blockage, then this leads to death of some of the cardiac muscle, potentially including the electrical nodes that cause regular heart contraction.

2 - Electrical anomalies - so there is an issue with the way the heart creates or propagates the electrical signal that regulates contraction - clearly 1 above can also create this scenario)

 

So - in your case you seem to have a problem in the second category where for some reason you "lose" heart beat/s - when your defib notices this, then it fires - basically causing a "reboot" of the electrical control of the heart - and in general the heart resumes normal function.