December 30th, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Opinion, Research
1 Comment »
It is risky.
Stay fresh. Avoid repeating yourself. Don’t rant. Never preach. These would be the ‘rules’ of supposedly good blogs.
And, of course, doctors that dare to take a stance on health issues risk being perceived as pretentious. I get this.
So it is with trepidation that I write a follow-up to last week’s CW post about right ventricular damage immediately after an extreme race effort. Notwithstanding the pompousness concern, I also wish to avoid being labeled anti-exercise. Few believe more strongly in the healing powers of exercise.
But last Wednesday’s comments (both on the blog, Facebook and here on Dr. Val Jones’ BetterHealth blog) were just too good to let rest.
On the assessment of studies: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
December 18th, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Research
4 Comments »
Dear Endurance Athletes,
Accept an apology in advance. You have endured so much from me.
Sorry.
Let’s at least start by agreeing that I can’t control the data.
Yes, you guessed it. There is unfortunately more bad news pertaining to the deleterious effects of endurance exercise on the human heart.
Again, I am sorry. Maybe re-phrasing the previous sentence will soften the blow. How about this: “Yet another study on endurance athletes suggests that exercise, like everything else in life, has an upper limit.”
Here goes, buckle up. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
September 16th, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Health Tips, Opinion
1 Comment »
Before I even start, let me say this to my triathlete friends…
I really like you all. And…I am sorry for how I feel about your sport’s pinnacle, the Ironman triathlon. But I was poked into writing this post. When asked the question of whether the Ironman is safe for the middle-aged heart, what was I to do? Lie?
Each August, my hometown, Louisville, KY, gets overrun, over-swum and over-ridden with “Iron people.” No, these humans aren’t rust colored, or all that hardened, but they are indeed a determined lot. Triathletes, or iron people if you will, wake up before sunrise to swim, bike or run. Then they eat; some go to work (barely), and then they do the training thing again in the evening. Calling these athletes focused would surely be an understatement.
So it is each summer that I endure the same question: “Dr. Mandrola, did you do the Ironman?”
“No…I just ride bikes.”
But this year was different. Before I could launch into my usual dissertation on how training for Ironman-length triathlons causes excess inflammation, coronary calcium, atrial fibrillation, divorce, etc., etc., another question quickly popped up.
“What did you think of that guy who died during this year’s race?” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
