January 30, 2023 – The advantages of normal exercise likely outweigh the small risk of exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest in adults ages 65 and older, based on a brand new study.
Only 77 (1.9%) of the 4,078 sudden cardiac arrests that occurred amongst nearly 2 million older adults in Portland, Oregon, and Ventura County, California, were exercise-related, based on the study, published online this month in Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Clinical Electrophysiology.
More than 90% of sports-related cardiac arrests occurred in men and were related to cycling, running and gym activities.
“As a cardiologist and (slow and steady) endurance runner, I am a firm believer in the benefits of exercise,” says Dr. Sumeet S. Chugh of Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles. “However, I was surprised that the rate of exercise-related cardiac arrests is so low in both communities.”
Overall, individuals who had suffered a sports-related sudden cardiac arrest were healthier than those whose cardiac arrest was not sports-related and had significantly fewer cardiac risk aspects reminiscent of hypertension, diabetes, obesity or hyperlipidemia.
“The benefits of exercise probably far outweigh the risks in older adults,” says Chugh. “The small proportion of those who experience exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest probably have significant, undetected coronary artery disease or an unexpected clinical event.”
Sports activity has been defined as any physical activity undertaken for the aim of recreation or maintenance of physical fitness or ability, says Chugh.
Most (77%) of sports-related sudden cardiac arrests occurred during exercise, 17% occurred inside one hour of stopping the activity, and 6% couldn’t be assigned to either category.
About 1 / 4 (26%) of patients had warning symptoms within the 24 hours before the event – mostly chest pain (55%). Three (15%) had seizures and the remaining had nonspecific symptoms reminiscent of dizziness or nausea.
Sports-related sudden cardiac arrest was also related to being in a public place where there have been more spectators witnessing the event and was more more likely to have the guts shocked back into beating. As a result, the survival rate was 4 times higher than for non-sports-related sudden cardiac arrest.
Talk to your doctor
“If you have questions about exercise, discuss them with your cardiologist” or one other health care provider, Chugh says. “If you are a habitual exerciser and have no symptoms, it is generally safe to continue. If you want to exercise but have not previously done so, talk to your doctor to see if you need an evaluation before starting. For older adults who are not accustomed to exercise, researchers recommend gradually increasing exercise over 6 to 8 weeks.”
“Remember that moderate exercise will give you the same benefits as a more intense level of exercise,” says Chugh.
Nikhil Warrier, MD, medical director of electrophysiology on the Memorial Care Heart & Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in California, says his practice has a variety of patients who fit the profile of the study participants, and football players Damar Hamlins Due to a recent sudden cardiac arrest, this became a hot topic within the office.
Warrier agrees that the general advantages of exercise probably outweigh the small risk of sudden cardiac arrest. Still, “Always talk to your doctor if you experience symptoms during exercise as part of an assessment of your individual risk of exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest,” he warns.