We often see news about athletes and runners fainting and dying suddenly while exercising. Most people close to the deceased usually confirm that the person exercised regularly, was healthy, and had no underlying diseases. So why does sudden cardiac arrest happen? We have an explanation from Lt. Col. Dr. Chayut Cheewapruk, a cardiology specialist at Phyathai Nawamin Hospital to share with you!
What causes sudden cardiac arrest?
Lt. Col. Dr. Chayut Cheewapruk explained to us that… the main causes of sudden death while running can be divided as follows:
- Cause 1: Caused by overload from excessive exercise in people who have never had a health check-up before.
- Cause 2: Caused by hidden heart abnormalities, such as in people over 40 years old who may have hidden coronary artery disease. In younger people, it can be caused by various reasons, such as congenital heart valve abnormalities that have never been checked, or commonly found conditions like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is more common in males than females, occurring in 2 out of 100,000 people, or myocarditis, etc.
For safety… it is recommended to have an EKG and echocardiogram to check for abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, as the thickness affects blood flow and heart function, which can cause sudden death.
- Cause 3: Caused by electrical abnormalities or circuits within the heart, which are congenital but asymptomatic, and happen to occur during exercise, such as arrhythmia.
If you want to avoid sudden cardiac arrest, here is the exercise advice from the doctor
The most important self-care advice for those who like to exercise, the doctor recommends first “getting a physical check-up” which is very important. Second is “warming up and cooling down”. Another point is before exercising, calculate your “target heart rate” by subtracting your age from 220, then multiply by 85%. This gives you the appropriate target heart rate for exercise, which should not be exceeded. Exercise at least 3-4 times per week, continuously for 20-30 minutes each time. For those who don’t have time and think about combining 30 minutes of exercise into 2 hours at once, the doctor confirms that this behavior is very dangerous!
Listen to the doctor! If you exercise regularly, is it really unnecessary to have a health check-up?
This is a common misconception among fitness enthusiasts or healthy people… that health check-ups are only for those with health problems! Actually, the doctor said “The idea that you have never been sick and don’t need a check-up is a big mistake, especially for those over 35 years old. You should have a health check-up at least once a year. Nowadays… anyone who enjoys running in various events should definitely get checked.”
For those who have never prioritized heart health check-ups, consider that when we are tired from work, we need rest, but our heart has to work all the time… without a break! Therefore, we should take good care of our heart health by regularly checking the heart’s strength.
Dr. Chayut Cheewapruk
Cardiology Specialist
Heart Center, Phyathai Nawamin Hospital
