How Enlarged Hearts In Athletes Can Go Undetected

Twenty-six year old Bears DE, Gaines Adams, was one of many athletes that died unexpectedly from cardiac arrest. It was determined during Adams’ autopsy that he had a condition know as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). HCM is a genetic disorder that affects 1 in 500 adults and is the most common cause of sudden death in athletes. HCM causes an abnormal enlargement of the heart due to thickening of the cardiac walls, which in turn causes the cardiac cells to shift into an erratic pattern. This erratic pattern causes abnormal electric signals in the heart that lead to potentially fatal arrhythmias.

Since Hypertrophic Cardiomypathy is fairly common, many people wonder why it isn’t detected in athletes during physical exams. HCM is commonly misdiagnosed in athletes because the heart becomes enlarged due to exercise. The difference between an enlarged heart due to exercise verses one due to disease is difficult to distinguish. The only way doctors can tell them apart is to do an EKG or an MRI to look at the heart. Diseased hearts become enlarged due to thickened walls while athletes’ hearts are enlarged due to larger chambers.

Armed with this information about HCM in athletes, many people are working to increase awareness about HCM. Some want an EKG or MRI to be a mandatory part of an athlete’s physical. Others want schools and athletic facilities to have AEDs on site in case of cardiac arrest.

I found this article interesting because we touched on the difference in the enlarged hearts of athletes and individuals with heart disease in class. Also, I was drawn to this article because a student in my high school died in football practice from HCM.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/david_epstein/01/18/adams/index.html