“Any athlete understands all the risks”: why do bodybuilders die prematurely?

On the Internet you can find a large number of articles titled “Bodybuilders dying of heart attack”. The most recent high-profile case discussed in the media is linked to the death of 44-year-old bodybuilder and Arnold Classic champion Cedric McMillan on the treadmill. According to the fitness publication Generation Iron, the athlete’s heart stopped. Due to the same health problems, 46-year-old bodybuilder Sean Rhoden, who made history as the oldest athlete to win the most important international competition, passed away in November last year.

Bodybuilder Stacey Cummings, 31, bodybuilder Tom Prince, 52, and Ashley Gearhart, 37, died earlier this year from various health-related causes. After the latter’s death, the bodybuilding community was shocked, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who won the title of “Mr. Olympia” seven times, named this sport is the “most dangerous” sport in the world.

Bodybuilding is a sport in which the human body develops to its limits. An increase in muscle mass, strict diets, heavy physical exercises – all this leads to an increased load on the heart, kidneys and other organs. Two high-profile deaths of bodybuilders in 2017 forced society to pay attention to the overuse of drugs that increase endurance but also seriously damage internal organs.

Then, at the age of 26, Dallas McCarver, one of the most promising bodybuilders in the world, died. At autopsy, his heart was found to be three times larger than that of an ordinary person. Three days after McCarver’s death, titled bodybuilder Rich Piana passed away. Experts found that his heart and liver were twice the size of normal organs.

According to Andrey Kiselev, a cardiologist of the highest category and head of the diagnostic department of the Central Clinical Hospital “RZD-Medicine”, when doing bodybuilding, the heart experiences a double load – it pumps blood for excess weight and takes additional anaerobic physical activity.

“Over time, myocardial fatigue occurs,” the cardiologist says. – This can develop into chronic heart failure, which leads to an enlargement of the heart, an increase in its size. Many weightlifters and the same Arnold Schwarzenegger have expanded cardiomyopathy. He’s had several heart surgeries.

As Stanislav Lindover, the master of bodybuilding, the Russian champion in this sport and the absolute champion of Europe, told socialbites.ca, professional athletes train twice a day, six days a week. He believes that bodybuilders are aware of all possible health problems that can threaten them, but he also explains that deaths caused by cumulative factors are millions of individual cases.

“My teaching experience is more than 30 years. The same Cedric McMillan, who sadly passed away, had more than 20 years of teaching experience. All this time he was engaged in bodybuilding without interruption and was familiar with all the potential threats. And any athlete who makes such a choice naturally understands all the risks. Stanislav Lindover says that weightlifting, which is an Olympic sport, has much more negative consequences for health.

If doctors unanimously claim that bodybuilding is harmful to the cardiovascular system, then Stanislav Lindover is sure of the opposite. He was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect at the age of 44, but by this time he had been training regularly, participating in competitions and winning awards for more than a dozen years.

“What does that say? About the fact that I’m running and not tracking my health, that was the reason for the restrictions I got. And when I came to a sports cardiologist, the first thing I heard was to never give up strength training. Iron heals, iron prevents, iron makes us healthier. And these accidents we face – their reasons. We do not know. Everyone says that it is the cardiovascular system, but in fact, these are our speculations, ”says the master of the sport of bodybuilding.

By the way, cardiologist Andrei Kiselev compares the heart condition of professional bodybuilders with people suffering from obesity. “Both there and there the pump (the heart) pumps excess body weight. Naturally, changes begin in the heart. Why do fat people live longer than bodybuilders? Because at least they do not give themselves such a strong physical load, ”explains the doctor.

Among the health hazards associated with bodybuilding, Ph.D., endocrinologist, chair of the scientific council of the Atlas clinical network. Yuri Poteshkin notes the possible development of osteoarthritis (accelerated joint destruction), diabetes mellitus due to drugs, increased insulin. resistance, blood lipids and accelerating atherosclerotic processes.

“Despite these factors, bodybuilding with the help of doctors can reduce some risks. For example, in orthopedics, there is a PRP therapy technique that effectively slows joint destruction. A cardiologist will help assess the current state of the heart and predict risks. In any case, bodybuilding requires a multidisciplinary approach and health monitoring with a few specialists,” says Yuri Poteshkin.