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Cyclists' hearts: can you be so fit that you die?

Medlife Crisis2 HN recommenders · 2019–2023
2.2M views · explainer · evergreen · Uploaded 2018-01-12

Medlife Crisis examines why some elite endurance athletes die in their sleep, covering extremely slow heart rates and the effects of performance-enhancing drugs that thicken blood. It uses cyclist Marco Pantani as an example.

HN recommends it as a good, short explanation of athlete's heart and the risks of extreme fitness.

Medicine & infectious diseaseFitness, sleep & longevitySports & athletics

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5 comments from Hacker News

@ausbah2019 · in “The Heart of a Swimmer vs. the Heart of a Runner”

I've heard of some professional cyclists years ago who turned their bodies into such efficient biking machines from training + drugs that when they when to sleep, there was a change of them dying in their sleep because their heart rate was so slow. They'd have to get up in the middle of the night and bike just to stay alive. Only anecdotal, but worth considering. [VIDEO]

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@JshWright2020 · in “Athlete’s Heart (2003)”

Medlife Crisis (a YouTube channel that deserves a much larger following) has a good video related to this topic: [VIDEO]

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@xref2021 · in “Overweight and healthy is a big fat lie, obesity study finds”

> He was so fit, he has to cycle several times at night to make his heart go faster and not to die. That wasn’t because he was “so fit” was it, but rather from being in the middle of a powerful doping regimen (like all top cyclists were, you simply couldn’t compete otherwise) raising your hemocrit level to the point it could kill you? Vid about it: [VIDEO]

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@011000112021 · in “Heavily mutated coronavirus variant puts scientists on alert”

I don't know, but just to throw this out there, I believe very cardiovascularly 'fit' people have a risk of death because their heart rate can drop dangerously during sleep( [VIDEO] ). I would also think soccer players are more likely to use performance enhancing drugs. I wouldn't blame it on the vaccine without more data.

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@alfu2023 · in “Endurain: Self-hosted Strava like service”

"Medlife Crisis" has an interesting video about this: [VIDEO] (Cyclists' hearts: can you be so fit that you die?)

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