1. The Athletic Heart and Exercise Testing

2. Learning Outcomes Describe cardiac hypertrophy as a fundamental adaptation to exercise Explain the difference in stroke volume of the heart of an endurance athlete and an untrained individual State protective effects of exercise Explain maximal and sub-maximal testing used to measure fitness Describe stress testing and cardiac patients’ rehabilitation

3. The Athletic Heart Training leads to cardiac hypertrophy Heart increases in size due to increased protein synthesis in the muscle fibres Individual muscle fibres thicken and there is an increase of contractile elements within each fibre Bigger muscle=stronger contractions = increased stroke volume

4. Protective Effects of Exercise Improves myocardial circulation Enhances contractile properties of myocardium Improves blood lipid profile (HDL: LDL) Lowers heart rate and blood pressure Decreases body fat Decreases recovery time

5. Principles of Exercise Testing Provides baseline data against which later assessments can be measured. Form of test depends on the individual and reasons for the test. Aerobic fitness – body’s ability to use oxygen. Depends on efficiency of cardiovascular and respiratory system.

6. Maximal Testing Measures the maximum rate at which the body is able to take up and use oxygen (VO 2 Max ). Test requires treadmill, measurable air supply and individual must exercise to exhaustion. Higher VO 2 Max = greater aerobic fitness.

7. Sub-Maximal Testing Assumes that: there is a linear relationship between VO 2 Max, heart rate and intensity of exercise and that an individual’s maximum heart rate = 220 – age in yrs Extrapolation to predicted Max heart rate Not as accurate as maximal testing because Heart Rate can be affected by other factors and 220-age may not be accurate for a particular individual

8. Cardiac Rehabilitation Supervised aerobic exercise programmes are now recommended. Exercise stress tests can be used to establish exercise limits and develop a fitness programme for the rehabilitation of cardiac patients.

9. Typical Exam Question Discuss the protective effects of exercise and outline how endurance training improves the performance of the heart (15 marks).

10. Websites http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/2002/07_02/puffer.htm http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/vo2max.htm http://home.hia.no/~stephens/vo2max.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/bsp/hi/in_the_gym/html/default.stm http://scholar.hw.ac.uk http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/VO2max.html