Participation in athletics at both the recreational and competitive levels has grown enormously over the last decade, and now involves a substantial segmen of the population of many countries, particularly those in Europe and North America. This change in the life-style of many individuals has been accompanied by the desire and necessity on the part of physicians to define the consequences of chronic athletic training and competition to the participant. Coincident with the growth of public interest in sporting competition has been the evolution and development of new non-invasive technologies in cardiology (such as M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiography and radionuclide angiography) which have permitted investigators to study directly and more precisely the morphology and function of the heart and cardiovascular system. Hence, over the past several years our knowledge has been greatly enhanced with regard to the features of the normal 'athlete heart' and the relationship of athletic conditioning to preexistent cardiovascular disease, as well as the causes of sudden death in athletes. The present treatise on 'Sports cardiology: Exercise in Health and Cardiovascular Disease' is an impressive reference document which is also timely. It fulfills an important role in summarizing most of the available data that has been accumulated over the last 10 years in a large number of athletes participating in a variety of different sports. Drs. I. Bekaert and R. Fagard have assembled 29 impressive contributions from more than 75 respected investigators from different parts of the world; these chapters constitute the essence of the International Conference on 'Sports cardiology' held in Knokke, Belgium in May 1985. This is a comprehensive book with broad scope. It begins with two chapters which describe in detail the 'athlete heart', including its significance, morphologic and functional features, and historical perspective. These contributions are followed by chapters describing the electrocardiographic, echocardiographic, and radionuclide angiographic findings in athletes. Also included are several chapters concerned with the impact of exercise programs on athletes, including those with or those without underlying cardiovascular disease. The final two chapters are devoted to the very important issue of sudden death in athletes and describe those cardiovascular diseases known to be responsible for sudden catastrophes on the athletic field, in youthful and in older athletes.

Download File Size:4.01 MB

---