At Integrative Cardiology Center of Long Island, our heart specialist wants to stress the importance of cardiovascular health. This muscular organ is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body, meaning its care should always be a top priority. Being diagnosed with a condition such as an athlete’s heart may be stressful at first, but our team would like to help ease your tension.
What Is Athlete’s Heart?
Just like with any other muscle, when enough usage and training takes place, the heart begins to grow. When this happens to your heart, it is known as athlete’s heart. An athlete’s heart is non-fatal and can correct itself by reducing high endurance activities for three to six months. The main significance of an athlete’s heart is that it must be differentiated from more serious cardiac conditions.
What Is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, commonly confused with an athlete’s heart, occurs when the heart becomes abnormally thick. This thickness makes it more difficult for the heart to pump blood throughout the body. During a cardiac imaging test, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and an athlete’s heart can look identical. However, the main difference between these two conditions is that an athlete’s heart will cause no symptoms. The common symptoms that come along with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy include the following:
- Shortness of breath.
- Heart murmurs.
- Rapid, fluttering, or pounding heartbeats.
- Chest pain.
- Fits of fainting.
- Risk of sudden cardiac death.
Causes
As we’ve previously stated, athlete’s heart is caused by the consistent overexertion of the heart muscle over time. However, the causes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are more complex. This condition is typically due to genetic mutations which cause the heart to grow thicker than normal. Having an abnormal arrangement of heart cells will also play a role in the development of this condition. No matter the cause, our heart specialist promises to administer a treatment that gets you back to full health.
Treatment
The main goal of treating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is to relieve symptoms and reduce the chances of sudden cardiac death for those suffering from it. Depending on the severity of this condition, different forms of treatment can be administered, including:
- Medications to relax and slow your heart rate.
- Surgically removing thickened parts of the heart.
- Injections to destroy a small portion of the thickened heart.
Contact Us
When your heart isn’t healthy, the rest of your body is likely to suffer. That is why you should have quick access to a heart specialist you can trust. At Integrative Cardiology Center of Long Island, our team will help determine when a heart condition will correct itself on its own, and when professional help is needed. If you believe you are suffering from athlete’s heart, but are unsure if it is a more serious condition, do not hesitate to book an appointment with us today!