Cyclists' hearts: can you be so fit that you die?
01-20-19, 09:27 AM
#26
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ABSOLUTELY no EPO drugs used since I'm not a super competitive individual. My lowest medically recorded HR was in 2015 when almost 65, I went for my cancer surgery pre-op. Got on the slab, nurse hooked me up and said "We have a problem, your HR is 32bpm and we can't get a good EKG at that." I had to sit up, move arms and legs then back down for a 39bpm recording. After completed she found records of a scan I had done a number of years earlier and that scan was also at 39bpm.
01-20-19, 09:36 AM
#27
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Uh, what era would that be?
This list begins in 1886:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ses_in_cycling
This list begins in 1886:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ses_in_cycling
01-20-19, 10:36 AM
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Doping has always been part of TDF and bicycle racing right from the earliest races...Sure they didn't have steroids but they used strychnine, nitroglycerine, alcohol, cocaine and all kinds of other unhealthy home-made concoctions... And no, those cyclists back then in the old days didn't live longer and weren't healthier then modern cyclists.
01-20-19, 10:40 AM
#30
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01-21-19, 08:14 PM
#31
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I have no scientific evidence to support this , but I had two friends both deceased who were marathon runners. Very fit people who ate all the right things, didn't drink or smoke and did not use drugs. One died of a heart attack at 38 and the other died of a heart attack at 50. Neither to my knowledge had a family history of heart problems. As I said not scientific but I am not sure it was a coincidence either.
01-22-19, 09:20 AM
#32
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The general population has a hematocrit ranging from 42 to 52. Endurance athletes tend to be a bit lower due to increased plasma volume (they also have more red blood cells, but this change isn't as significant as the increased plasma). However, while rare, it's not unheard of for an athlete to hit 50 naturally. Charly Wegelius is one pro rider who got an exemption because his level often went above 50.
01-22-19, 09:49 AM
#33
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The general population has a hematocrit ranging from 42 to 52. Endurance athletes tend to be a bit lower due to increased plasma volume (they also have more red blood cells, but this change isn't as significant as the increased plasma). However, while rare, it's not unheard of for an athlete to hit 50 naturally. Charly Wegelius is one pro rider who got an exemption because his level often went above 50.
There was also a cross country skier who had very high hematocrit. Also, thinner blood is easier to pump.
01-26-19, 02:31 PM
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I had a neighbor in St. Louis with Polycythemia.
He smoked like a chimney, and I don't believe was hyper-fit. He'd go in every month or so to get blood drawn. No idea why the doctors didn't just insist he stop smoking.
One's HCT isn't a single value. But, is part of the body's response to hypoxia. I have to think part of the neighbor's issues were due to smoking and carbon monoxide.
Training in the mountains around Denver?
I suppose that is one of the risks of EPO. Too many RBCs/Hemoglobin. So, the body responds with a lower heart rate. And, then poor blood flow causes problems. Vasoconstriction?
He smoked like a chimney, and I don't believe was hyper-fit. He'd go in every month or so to get blood drawn. No idea why the doctors didn't just insist he stop smoking.
One's HCT isn't a single value. But, is part of the body's response to hypoxia. I have to think part of the neighbor's issues were due to smoking and carbon monoxide.
Training in the mountains around Denver?
I suppose that is one of the risks of EPO. Too many RBCs/Hemoglobin. So, the body responds with a lower heart rate. And, then poor blood flow causes problems. Vasoconstriction?
