Powerlifting and the heart

S

scientific muscle

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I was wondering if any long-term studies have looked at the influence of regular 1 rep maximum performances in weight-training (that many powerlifters are involved with for sometimes years on end) and the influences such training has on the heart.....good/bad/both?
 
the general thing its towards cardiac hypertrophy similar to that achieved by raised BP.

its not experiemental evidence tho, just observational.

Runners can also have cardiac hypertrophy, but a different way
 
Yes the heart is a muscle, but it's a different muscle with a different purpose. An enlarged heart is an inefficient one I'm told, and mine has shrunk since it's healed, and gone from 30% to 55% (perfect) efficiency, so size is a reverse phenomenon. None of your other muscles are 'pumps', exactly.
 
Well, depends if you want to play the concept of Muscle Pump that aids in the return of blood to the heart.
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An enlarged heart can be inefficient, it depends on why it is enlarged.
 
Pathological cardiac hypertrophy results in an increase in muscle size of the heart without a concurrent increase in efficiency. In this case, the hypertrophy is usually not reversible without some sort of treatment involving drugs and/or surgery and/or therapy. The  most well know case is an increase in septum wall thickness and an increase in the left ventricle. More often than not it is the result of hypertension due to any number of reasons both genetic and environmental. It can also be idiopathic meaning without a known cause.

Cardiac hypertrophy may also result from intense endurance exercise and also, albeit to a lesser extent, from power lifting, weight lifting and almost any sport intense enough to get the heart working for longer periods of time and higher frequency.. Sports related cardiac hypertrophy, in the absence of any illness or underlying heart sickness, is a perfectly healthy heart, a much stronger heart and a much more efficient heart.   The concept of an "Athletes Heart" has been around for more than century and this type of hypertrophy is more or less reversible with detraining. The degree to which the hypertropy  is achieved is dependent upon the type of sport which is practiced. Cyclist and rowers have huge hearts, with huge stroke volumes and massive VO2 max (ml/min/kg). Power lifters also achieve much stronger, more efficient hearts as well, although to a lesser degree.

Search for pubmed or google articles with "ATHLETES HEART" if you havent already.

Here is one reference to get you started : it is a freebie from the publisher

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites....VDocSum
 
For those who don't know me, I had supraventricular tachycardia for about 30 years...which weakened the heart to a full blown congestive heart failure, by which time it was enlarged. My improvements happened in a short while after the ablation surgery, which stopped the arrythmias.
Anyway, my enlargement wasn't so much due to exersize, but exersize helped heal it, and it shrunk.
I see what DrPierre is saying about sports-related cardial hypertrophy.
 
<div>
(drpierredebs @ Jul. 03 2007,17:52)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Pathological cardiac hypertrophy results in an increase in muscle size of the heart without a concurrent increase in efficiency. In this case, the hypertrophy is usually not reversible without some sort of treatment involving drugs and/or surgery and/or therapy. The  most well know case is an increase in septum wall thickness and an increase in the left ventricle. More often than not it is the result of hypertension due to any number of reasons both genetic and environmental. It can also be idiopathic meaning without a known cause.

Cardiac hypertrophy that results from intense endurance exercise and and also, albeit to a lesser extent, from power lifting, weight lifting and almost any sport intense enough to get the heart working for longer periods of time and higher frequency. Sports related cardiac hypertrophy, in the absence of any illness or underlying heart sickness, is a perfectly healthy heart, a much stronger heart and a much more efficient heart.   The concept of an &quot;Athletes Heart&quot; has been around for more than century and this type of hypertrophy is more or less reversible with detraining. The degree to which the hypertropy  is achieved is dependent upon the type of sport which is practiced. Cyclist and rowers have huge hearts, with huge stroke volumes and massive VO2 max (ml/min/kg). Power lifters also achieve much stronger, more efficient hearts as well, although to a lesser degree.

You can find much more indepth answers by searching for articles with ATHLETES Heart if you havent already.

Here is one reference to get you started : it is a freebie from the publisher

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites....VDocSum</div>
Thanks, good info. here.
 
Aren't there a lot powerlifters with high levels of LDL Cholesterol? Especially in the super heavy weights?

I realise that it's not the lifting per se, but their nutrition. So I guess the biggest danger in powerlifting for the heart is eating too much bad food to fulfil calorie and body size targets.
 
To reawaken an old thread, I concur about the diets, but wouldn't it be better to remain in the lower weight classes and work more on power? I don't think it would be good for my ticker or pacer to get too heavy, although there are a couple PL's with pacers too. I'm thinking of limiting to around 230-240 if I can gain that much without looking like a potatoe.
 
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